THE owner of a new restaurant on Tranent High Street hopes that her home-cooked meals can provide comfort to older residents.

Jackie Watters, 53, opened the new location for her business Foodzup on Monday, August 26; it runs as both a restaurant and a home catering service.

Customers can visit the premises to enjoy a special which changes every day, or order online for meals to be collected or delivered.

Jackie said that one of the biggest customer bases was carers and relatives of elderly people.

Her homecooked meals can be frozen and then heated up, which she hopes gives them a meal to look forward to.

Jackie told the Courier: “I worked in care for a long, long time; I was a registered manager for a care company.

"I love to cook, I’ll cook anything, but I’ll always be a home cook – the kind of stuff I was brought up on, your mince and tatties and all that kind of stuff.

“I used to make them for my clients and I used to hand them in, and it kind of spawned from that idea.

“The meals that most pensioners get delivered – they’re absolutely vile. There’s no taste to them. I think I’ve found maybe two or three of them over the years that were edible.

“So at the moment, I am getting a lot of interest and people buying meals for elderly patients and elderly relatives that they are able to just put in the freezer and then take out and heat up with their carer and things like that.

“It’s like a new-age ‘meals on wheels’."

Everything on the menu is cooked by Jackie and her daughter Beth, 25.

Jackie with her daughter Beth, who helps with the cooking

There is a new special every day and a range of comforting classics are on offer, including homemade soups, macaroni cheese, dirty fries, stovies and chicken curries.

There is also a reduced price and special menu for children in the morning and at lunchtime, as well as outside catering for parties and funerals.

Charcuteries can also be made to order.

The opening week of the new premises has been intense for Jackie but she is “incredibly grateful” for how kind her new customers have been.

She said: “I did originally start this from home but I worked myself out of the house, basically.

“The meals have really taken off, they’re doing exceptionally well.

“It’s just been so busy!”

Foodzup meals can be ordered by messaging the business's page on Facebook or popping into the restaurant at 55 High Street, Tranent.