IT'S not every day you see a trained pastry chef collaborate with an aircraft engineer.

But that's exactly what Antonia Godward and her husband Peter have done to open a new niche business selling baked goods near Winchester.

The Twyford-based duo has launched Sacher and Strudel - a Viennese-styled patisserie in Shawford Road.

Inspired by her love of specialist pastries Mrs Godward, 32, said it was something she'd always wanted to do hoping she could bring something a little different to Shawford villagers.

Having now signed a five-year-lease on the former hairdressers, opposite the Bridge pub, the couple saw customers vying at the door to get a glimpse into the newly-refurbished shop.

Selling all manner of cakes and treats, including the staple apple strudels and Sacher torte, Mrs Godward said she's eager to see how the coming months pan out.

Having trained in Vienna, picking up extra tips at the Schönbrunn Palace in the heart of Austria, she said her love of the city drives her.

“This is my homage to Vienna,” she said. “I can't live there so this is the next best option. I started off with the smallest idea of a market stall and finding a little kitchen,” she added. “But then we found these premises and the idea just grew. The locals have been absolutely fantastic and very supportive.”

Before studying finance at university Mrs Godward spent a number of years learning the Viennese tricks of the trade including an old folklore which said that the pastry must be thin enough to read one's love letters through.

With the added support of her five-year-old daughter Georgina she said she'll be able to cope with what she hopes will be a busy but steady flow of custom giving her enough time to bake in-between serving hot drinks.

“It's all because of my love of Vienna. My mother and I used to pilgrimage there every year and it was the history and the culture that caught hold of me,” she said. “It has a very relaxed cafe culture. Unlike Paris or London where everyone's rushing around they encourage you to take a break and savour your pastry and then return to the mad rush of the world.”