A grandmother’s homemade soup has wowed judges to win a national TV cooking competition and hits Waitrose shelves in February.

Karen Tanner, from Thames Ditton, has always taken delight in feeding her family and, after enduring years of people telling her to enter Come Dine With Me and other such programmes, she gave in.

The retired receptionist entered her chicken, paprika and chorizo soup into a competition on the Lorrraine Kelly show, and was gobsmacked when the programme told her she had beaten more than a thousand viewers to win.

Her soup started as a basic chicken soup which the family would eat when her two children, who are now in their 30s, were small and as their taste buds developed so did the recipe.

Mrs Tanner said: “I just can’t believe it, little old me? It’s so weird.

“So many people have requested the soup since I won. I’ve made countless batches. I’ve got quite a large pan so I’m probably making the soup every four to five days so people can taste the soup they’ve voted for.”

The soup is set to go on sale at Waitrose in February and setting down the recipe has inspired Mrs Tanner to record her other recipes on paper so she can hand them down the family.

She said: “I want to make a cook book for the children because all my recipes are kept in my head and they’re always coming round for my soup.

“I love cooking, I’ve got a big family - two children, three step-children and their partners and they’re always round. I’ve got food coming out of my ears.”

She said she wished she had done something with food in her professional life, but by the time she got her teeth into it, it was too late.

She said: “I won’t hang my hopes on this, but I hope something else comes from it.”

Serves 4 Ingredients:

Spray oil 1 large onion, chopped

1 large chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces

3oz chorizo, chopped

1 red pepper, finely chopped

1 yellow pepper, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped ¾ tsp smoked paprika - adjust to taste

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 chicken stock cube (I use Knorr), melted in ¾ pint of boiling water ¼ tsp sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

2 tbsps creme fraiche Serve with: slices of crusty bread

Method: Spray a large pan with oil and fry the chopped onions until soft. Add the chicken pieces and continue cooking for five minutes.

Add the chorizo, peppers, garlic and paprika and stir for a further five minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and stock and stir together along with the sugar, salt and pepper.

Once everything is combined, check for seasoning and strength of paprika. Add a little more paprika, sugar or salt and pepper if needed.

Cook for about 15 minutes on a low heat until all flavours are infused. Take out two ladles and liquidise along with the creme fraiche. Tip back into the soup and mix well.

Serve piping hot with an extra blob of creme fraiche if desired and a slice of crusty bread.