Frozen food retailer Cook has finally launched a range of summer party food after a three-year delay.

The range, which includes dishes such as fruity couscous salad, Coronation chicken, feta and red pasta salad, and decorated side of salmon, will be made at the company's factory in Sittingbourne, Kent, where it relocated to last September.

The retailer had wanted to launch the range earlier, but its plans had been scuppered because it did not have the capacity to make the range and had not found a supplier able to meet its exacting standards, said Cook co-founder Edward Perry.

"With the best will in the world, we just hadn't found another kitchen with the same standards as we have in our own," Perry said. "No matter how much detail we go into about the specification of the product, not having the control has meant that sometimes the finished product lacks that final 20% that changes a dish from being OK to absolutely delicious."

The new site can produce 500,000 products a week - a five-fold increase on the capacity of its original site. It also allowed the company to apply what Perry described as the 'Dale Standard' - set by co-founder and chef director Dale Penfold.

Cook has also added summer sleeves to 25 of its products containing summer serving suggestions. However, it has chosen to avoid offering a barbecue range.

"The local butcher is much better qualified to provide this sort of product, so best leave it to the experts," Perry said.

Last year Cook recorded a pre-tax profit of £32,000, the first in its 10 year history.

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