A SHEFFIELD entrepreneur who used her own experiences to start a gluten and wheat-free food company is hoping to be in the running for a £50,000 business award.

Sheffield Hallam University graduate Emma Killilea set up Delicious Alchemy after discovering she suffered a severe wheat and gluten intolerance.

Just 15 months on and Emma, aged 36, who took a degree in Food prior to setting the business up selects items to a strict criteria herself. Credit to her expertise has won Emma a gold in the Guild of Fine Foods Gold Great Taste Awards, and been awarded the Excellence in Food and Drink Award.

Now her latest challenge is to land a place as a regional finalist in the 2008 HSBC Start-Up Stars Awards - an annual search for the country’s most promising start-up businesses and the inspiration entrepreneurs behind them.

The heats generate 60 winners, with 10 businesses which are less than three years old then chosen by business experts to represent their region in the final with the chance of winning £50,000.

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