Sweet tooths flock to annual Australian cake, bake, sweet show

Sticky fingers and sugar highs are adorning Australians this weekend at the annual Cake, Bake and Sweets show in Sydney through a delicious array of bespoke and contemporary deserts by some of the nation's best cooks.

The annual three-day gathering -- running since 2014 and arguably Australia's largest festival of cakes, bakes and sweets -- features live demonstrations by celebrity chefs, interactive workshops and delicious treats to satisfy even the most hardened of sweet tooths.

Old fashioned and bespoke confectionary is a growing market in Australia thanks to the reality TV competition cooking show phenomenon, however consumers are still hesitant to regain their roots in traditional sweets due to mass production.

"It's education," Craig Roy, a bespoke producer of old fashioned, traditional sweets, fudge and sauces told Xinhua on Saturday.

"Once consumers understand (the traditional methods) they're hooked, because they've only tried the (mass produced) sickly sweet fudge (from supermarkets)."

Retailers however are hesitant to stock bespoke products due to the higher cost and the assumption the market won't pay a premium for quality products, Roy said, adding he has a customer travelling from Canada to buy some of his tomato, basil and garlic sauce.

"There's so much pastry and patisserie in (amateur competition cooking shows)... it's (growing) the industry from being relatively basic in Australia to high-end skills with high-end products," Australian Patisserie Academy head teacher Kathy Roser told Xinhua.

"The café culture in Australia is growing (too), and with every cup of coffee there comes a cake." Endit