A few years ago a couple of Sydney-siders moved to Melbourne after learning  the sweet trade from an aging artisan on the north coast. Christopher King and Tommy Tang ( with a name like that you would just about have to open a lolly shop ) were so successful with their novelty custom designs of brightly coloured pulled sugar that they went worldwide. Barcelona, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Amsterdam – New York!

The Broome Street store last week was full of tempting Easter configurations. Even if you didn’t first realise that all the gorgeous bunnies were edible, as soon as you stepped inside you were stuck. Samples are offered generously and those girls can make anything out of sugar – wedding rings, personalised lollipops, a pair of teeth, a full size look-a-like birthday girl – whatever you want and they are all works of art. Many of the flavours are natural or made with essential oils, and the detail is amazing. What starts as a mass of sugar, a great rolling pin of color, is crafted into delicate miniatures that you can’t resist. It’s like magic – if I didn’t see them being made I wouldn’t be interested, but these lollies are the story-book kind that can’t possibly be bad for you…