The way to every little girl’s (and the odd boy’s) heart is a pink candy stripe interior with a sugar-coated bouquet laden with lollipops. Think Alice in Wonderland, step through the looking glass and imagine your child has just drank the growing potion; in Cukier Lukier all the furnishings are petite, giving your child a sense of charge yet the abundance of glorious lollipops and the intense sweet fragrance wafting from the production area, leaves them as lost as Alice was! Luckily, Małgorzata, the Polish/English-speaking owner, and her colleagues are on hand to guide our sweet toothed generation through the umpteen flavors and colors available.
I grew up near the British coast, so I am somewhat accustomed to the tradition of handmade sweets, or rather the good old fashioned stick of rock. If you are not, then I suggest you make a point of visiting Cukier Lukier during one of their four times daily, seven days a week, 30 minute production shows. These take place behind a glass screen and start with a hot sticky syrup being poured into a form. Color and flavor is added and after cooling slightly the glutinous caramel is transferred to a rather macabre looking hook on the wall. The next process is what can only be described as a rather tough work-out session for the employee who must pull and stretch the elastic caramel whilst the lip-licking audience witnesses the color conversion. Hereafter, production progresses to rolling, cutting and shaping the lollipop right in front of the bulging, vulture eyes of the onlookers. You can even taste the warm goo!
Whilst we enjoyed the whole experience and left the shop with just one oversized token lollipop, the passionate staff repeated the whole operation again and again and again, as they had to complete an order for 500 lollipops! Aside from the daily shows, Cukier Lukier welcomes groups, takes orders for personalized candy art and organizes affordable and fun one to three hour birthday parties – they’ll even close the shop for party bookings. In fact, the only thing I can think of missing at this candy cravers corner was ‘My Girl Lollipop’ on loop in the background. (GBB)
