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Spot the difference

Hilary McNevin

Taking inspiration from New York ... Candied Bakery in Spotswood.
Taking inspiration from New York ... Candied Bakery in Spotswood.Supplied

IS SPOTSWOOD CHANGING ITS ...well, let's just say that good things are happening in the 'hood.

At 87 Hudsons Road, there's the excellent Duchess of Spotswood cafe, where Andrew Gale cooks his British-influenced dishes. And a few doors down, at 81A, the American-inspired Candied Bakery opened in late November. It's owned by Toula Ploumidis and Orlando Artavilla, who operated Brunswick's Sugardough Panificio and Patisserie from 2004 to 2011.

They have taken their cue from David Chang's Momofuku Milk Bar and Bakery in Manhattan, which they visited last year.

The lamington at Candied Bakery.
The lamington at Candied Bakery.Supplied
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"We wanted to open in an area that really needed something like this," says Artavilla, the baker in the partnership.

Together with Ploumidis, a chef by trade, he renovated the former barber shop and collaborated with city-based design studio Foolscap to create a minimalist room with lots of concrete and steel; a black, yellow and white colour palette; a neon sign in the window; and hot-pink price labels.

"I chose black and yellow because that's my footy team's colours, the Cobram Tigers," Artavilla says.

Most of the bread is organic sourdough. There is also ciabatta and, naturally, doughnuts. A soft-serve machine rotates through flavours: malted milk at times, Milo on the day we spoke. Soft-serve and a trifle doughnut, anyone?

Hilary McNevin

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