After Helge Rubenstein created the tasty recipe for Ben's Cookies in 1983, the first shop opened in the Covered Market the following year.

Forty years on, its delicious treats are still enjoyed by visitors to the historic market in Oxford but also by people around the globe as the cookies are now popular around the globe.

Staff this week have been celebrating the 40th anniversary.

READ MORE: Five Oxfordshire businesses fail to pay the minimum wage 

The company website says: "Ben's Cookies was founded in 1983, in the home of the chocolate-loving cookery writer, Helge Rubinstein. She baked these incredible cookies that were too good not to share, and that’s how Ben’s Cookies was born.

"Our first shop opened in 1984 in Oxford’s Covered Market, and our brand name was inspired by Helge’s son, Ben - that’s him in our logo, illustrated by her dear friend and renowned artist, Sir Quentin Blake.

READ MORE: Covered Market gets £6.8m funding package

"Although we sell far more cookies than we used to, our approach to making them stays the same; freshly baked with chocolate chunks 'not chips' 

Oxford Mail: Ben[s Cookis staff

"It’s all about making the very best cookies we can, every single day."

All the dough is made in kitchens just outside Oxford and then transported to each store where the 85g cookies are freshly baked throughout the day.

There are Ben's Cookies shops in the Middle East, East Asia and the United States, including those in Bahrain, Dubai, Bangkok, Kuwait and the Philippines.

Ben's Cookies is one of a number of businesses at the market celebrating 40th birthdays. 

Another is Oxford Cheese Company.

A £6.8m package to revitalise Oxford’s historic Covered Market was approved by city council leaders earlier this year.

The project includes the entrances in High Street and Market Street being transformed, larger seating areas inside, and a new space outside in a new pedestrian-friendly Market Street.

The regeneration will respect the unique character, heritage and history of the Covered Market, which first opened fully in 1774, while securing the long-term future of the Grade II-listed prized council asset.

Oxford Mail:

The set of proposals has come together into a “Masterplan”, prepared over a period of two years, involving extensive consultation with market traders, residents and other stakeholders.

In Market Street there will be a large, welcoming seating area, which will function as a public square during the day and a flexible event space at different times. This will bring more light into the market and improve the entrance space.

A number of traders at the market have agreed to keep later opening hours, coinciding with the arrival of a new Tap Social bar.

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About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

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