A Sutton cookies bakery which started as a lockdown hobby is set to have its own stall at this year’s Winter Wonderland.

During the pandemic, Lewis West and his wife Yasmin were working in recruitment and sales respectively, but were uncertain about what would happen to their industries.

The couple asked each other what hobbies they wanted to get involved in.

The 33-year-old told Your Local Guardian: “We found ourselves in a position where we didn’t have much else to do.

“Given our jobs, we never really had any baking experience besides eating home-cooked meals.

“But about into the third week of Covid, we asked ourselves what we could bake to satisfy our cravings."

The couple began small, working through recipes making banana bread and cakes, and then on one Saturday evening, the couple decided they wanted some freshly baked warm cookies.

With Lewis’s addiction to Maryland cookies at the time and Yasmin’s love for both warm cookies and Kinder Chocolate, they decided to come up with their own ultimate cookie.

Little did they know at the time this was the start of the famous West Bakes Kinder Cookie.

(Image: Lewis West)

Lewis added: “To save the argument, we decided to come up with our own version of what we believe is the ultimate cookie.

“So, we asked our family what recipes they have from over the years.

“And we were playing around for one day and came across this combination of a few recipes that just seemed to work.

“We wanted to give them to the neighbours, and this is how it originally started: our neighbours just kept asking for more.”

Yasmin decided to sell some of their cookies on Etsy and they began operating under the name West Bakes.

But one of their first orders was from a customer requiring 10,000 cookies.

Lewis felt this was a scam at first, but after following it up, he realised that somebody genuinely wanted 10,000 of his and his wife’s homemade cookies.

Although they were initially quite sceptical, especially about how they would manage to bake so many cookies, the couple converted their one-bedroom flat into a makeshift bakery.

For two weeks, they "relentlessly" baked and shipped cookies across the UK.

In early 2023, West Bakes Cookies moved into an empty unit at the St Nicholas Centre in Sutton.

(Image: Lewis West)

Now they provide cookies to 170 stores across the UK, including the Spaghetti Tree in Walton-on-Thames and other cafes and restaurants.

This Christmas, West Bakes will be making an appearance at Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland.

Lewis said: “After hassling them for a few years, we finally got confirmation that we will be at Winter Wonderland this year, which will be our biggest event to date.

“And what a combo – cookies and hot chocolate at Winter Wonderland.

“Winter Wonderland is uncharted territory for us, and it’s taken me about two years to get involved with them, and now we’re finally there.

“We’re also approaching the sale of our millionth cookie in a few weeks, and that’s a huge milestone for us.”

Looking ahead, Lewis hopes to move the business to Dubai as well as set up a central London store by September 2025.

Lewis’s personal favourite is the triple chocolate and Oreo cookies and says the most popular cookie appears to be the Kinder Bueno.

(Image: Lewis West)

As well as cookies, they make cookie pies, which Lewis explained were cookies in a pie format and could come with kinder bueno, milk chocolate and hazelnut spread inside for example.

He also said the most unique thing about West Bakes Cookies is the size of their cookies, calling it “the ultimate standout”.

He said: “Our cookies are five ounces, so we try to stay away from the traditional things.

“We provide something to the audience and hope to make them question how we made the cookie and how we made them rise.

"The size shape and taste of the cookies are definitely the best things about West Bakes Cookies."

West Bakes Cookies is open from 12pm to 5pm on Wednesdays to Saturdays, and 12pm to 4pm on Sundays.