Melbourne's sweet tooths are in for a serious sugar rush.
Queen Victoria Market prepares to host its first-ever dessert extravaganza in collaboration with Melbourne Food & Wine Festival and The Bearded Bakers.
The Sweet As Festival will transform the market’s open-air sheds into a paradise of sugary delights, featuring more than 20 dessert traders slinging everything from souffle pancakes to traditional knafeh.
Sweet As Festival
- Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March 2025
- Queen Victoria Market, C and D Sheds
- 9am to 4pm
- Free entry (desserts available to purchase)
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The Bearded Bakers, known for their energetic performances and Middle Eastern baking traditions, will be at the heart of the action, bringing their signature “baking and shaking” with live music, drumming and dancing.
They’ve even created a special market-inspired knafeh that blends the sweetness of figs with rich knafeh flavours, topped with pistachios and sugar syrup.
“We’re excited to bring the Sweet As festival to Queen Victoria Market and share our love for desserts with the whole of Melbourne,” says Joey El-Issa, co-founder of The Bearded Bakers. “Our Market-inspired knafeh is a fusion of cultures and flavours, just like Queen Victoria Market itself.”
Festival-goers can expect a seriously diverse range of treats. Colombiantojos will be serving up vibrant corn cakes in tropical and berry variations, while Toyoki Souffle brings their melt-in-your-mouth Japanese souffle pancakes to the party. Those after something more traditional can hit up Sticky Date for their classic pudding with a modern twist.
For the adventurous sweet tooth, Lucky Coin offers innovative Korean cheese coins in Nutella KitKat, and Swirle will be creating the visual spectacle of Tanghulu – those glistening candied fruit skewers you’ve been seeing all over TikTok.
If that’s not enough sugar to send you into a blissful coma, an optional Sweet As Tour will run on the Saturday morning, guiding dessert enthusiasts through the market’s best sweet offerings.
The $99 ticket includes tastings of melt-in-your-mouth pastries, traditional Greek spoon sweets, handmade Sicilian gelato and the iconic hot jam doughnuts that have been a Melbourne institution for decades.
Come hungry and with stretchy pants – this is one festival where you’ll definitely want seconds.
Tickets for the Sweet As Tour are available here.
