Katherine Sabbath joins Parramatta Lanes

POPULAR cake baker and creative extraordinaire Katherine Sabbath will bring her colourful creations to the streets of Parramatta this week.

Dessert queen Katherine Sabbath teams up with Mr Black to serve espresso martinis, classic chocolate cookies and boozy affogatos at this year's Parramatta Lanes.

• No plans in place for second Westmead primary school
• How to choose the right school

POPULAR cake baker and creative extraordinaire Katherine Sabbath will bring her colourful creations to the streets of Parramatta this week.

The annual Parramatta Lanes festival opens tonight and the former high school teacher turned full-time creative baker will join the party at the Mr Black Espresso Bar at Aird St.

The Aird St laneway, presented by Westfield Parramatta, will be one of 14 lanes transformed with food, music and art from tonight until Friday.

Pineapple Designs artist Zara Pasfield with her installation 'Love Birds' at Red Cow Lane. The work encourages the community to come together to reduce personal plastic waste. Picture: Troy Snook

Malt Shop Rollers Tasmin Young and Kate Hatton with treats from BL Burgers. They’ll be at the Eat Street Car Park as part of the retro rooftop party. Picture: Troy Snook

The Mr Black Espresso Bar will serve espresso martinis, boozy affogatos and Sabbath’s cocktail garnishes.

Sabbath will also hold a cake pop demonstration at Westfield Parramatta’s Centre Court at 4pm on Thursday, and then return to Mr Black Espresso Bar on Thursday night.

Sabbath, who has more than 450,000 Instagam fans around the globe, said she relished the opportunity to spend time with like-minded bakers at events like Parramatta Lanes.

“I think that’s where I like to take my time and celebrate what it is that’s happened, because at home I work alone and a lot of the time I’m dealing with I guess shipping and all the logistics with the pop-up cookbook (Katherine Sabbath: Greatest Hits, currently in its second reprint) and I’m not as creative and covered in flour and sugar as much as people think I am,” she said.

“Day to day I’m at my laptop working or writing down ideas and proposals and whatnot but when I have the chance to do a cake demonstration or a cake class or just meet people who think the same way I do and I can call friends, that’s when it brings it all home for me and it becomes real,” she said.

Parramatta Marist High School students Anthony Poulmade and Nathan Khoury with their kinetic sculptures. Design studio Amigo and Amigo collaborated with Parramatta Marist High School students to create the wearable sculptures, which will roam around Parramatta Lanes. Picture: Troy Snook

Parramatta Lanes attracted record crowds of more than 100,000 last year and Sabbath said she was looking forward to experiencing the atmosphere for the first time.

“A free party on a Tuesday night or a weeknight is always a major drawcard for me — any excuse to go out and have a good time,” she said.

“Having the variety of food in one place with music playing in the background and seating is just a really nice experience.”

As well as food, music and art, Parramatta Lanes will include a retro rooftop party this year.

The rooftop of the Eat Street Car Park on George St will transform into a retro disco with rollerskating, arcade games, mini golf and cocktails.

Gelato Messina, Butter, BL Burgers and Pimp My Donut will bring their popular food and drink along with a special menu by award-winning chef Mitch Orr.