‘Tis the season to be… sweet

Epicure Gingerbread Village

Even the sweetest of teeth will be well and truly satisfied in Melbourne this Christmas, with several events promising to provide a sugary entrée to the festive season.

At The Hotel Windsor, Melbourne’s sugar sculptresses, The Hotham Street Ladies, have crafted a to-scale art installation that depicts a decadent Christmas lunch – but is made entirely of icing sugar. The sugary feast took in excess of 150 hours to create, with more than 50 kilos of icing sugar and countless bottles of food dye used to craft the scene. The icing sugar is also infused with classic Christmas scents including marzipan and cloves, bringing an additional sensory element to the experience. Until January 5, 2016. 111 Spring Street, Melbourne. Tel: +61 3 9633 6000

Over at Melbourne Town Hall, the Gingerbread Village by EPICURE returns for its fifth year. Pastry Chef Deniz Karaca and his talented team have created a mini version of Melbourne from gingerbread and this year the cityscape also includes the Formula 1® Australian Grand Prix. Many months of hard work have gone into the display, along with 500 kilograms of gingerbread, 360 kilograms of royal icing and 150 kilograms of marzipan. Entry is by gold coin donation, with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish Australia. Until December 24. Corner Little Collins & Swanston Streets, Melbourne.

Meanwhile, at Melbourne Central, a pop-up Kit Kat Studio offers chocoholics the chance to customise their own Kit Kat creation. Step one: select a preferred chocolate type; step two, select up to three of 17 ingredients (think butterscotch fudge, freeze dried raspberries, caramelised meringue and chocolate brownie); then choose the packaging, select its name and watch as the Kit Kat chefs set to work behind a glass kitchen window. Around three hours later, a text message reports that the custom Kit Kat is ready for collection, and viola – a ready to eat, personalised chocolate bar, the perfect Kris Kringle gift or stocking filler. Until 17 January. Ground Floor, Melbourne Central, 211 La Trobe Street.