Sweetfest, the new two-day festival celebrating all things baked, whipped, iced and colourful gave sugar fans access to some of Victoria’s best pastries and desserts.
Hosted at the Meat Market in North Melbourne as part of The Age Good Food Month, Sweetfest attracted a superstar lineup including Luxbite, Bibelot, Phillippa’s Bakery and Ganache Chocolates.
Gelato Messina sold fairy bread pops inspired by the festival’s headline guests – the duo behind New York’s Big Gay Ice Cream – alongside mini versions of their own trademark magic mushroom ice cream cakes. Meanwhile, the Big Gay Ice Cream crew took to the masterclass stage to demo their legendary Choinkwich – a chocolate and caramelised bacon ice-cream sandwich.
Also on the demo stage, Kathine Sabbath whipped up her watercolour cake and harajuku burger cupcakes while Philippa Sibley – creator of the Snickers dessert and guest on MasterChef– schooled the audience on the baking essentials every home cook gets wrong.
Sydney’s Black Star Pastry also swooped in to sell its famous strawberry watermelon cake, along with pastry tacos and a raspberry galette, while owner Christoper Thé showed guests how to make his best-selling sweets themselves.
“Even if you’re waging an anti-sugar crusade, the creativity of the dessert world right now is flooring. Dessert is now art,” Good Food Month creative director Gemima Cody said.
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