Feeling like a child in a sweet shop at The Treat Kitchen

Everyone has fond memories of buying sweets as a child. For me it was when I was eventually allowed to go to the shops on my own where I would come back with bags of penny sweets, including flying saucers, jelly strawberries, pear drops, cola bottles and whatever else I could carry.

Now a Nottingham sweet shop is delighting visitors to the city with its modern take on the traditional sweet shop. The Treat Kitchen, on Wheeler Gate, opened in September and since then it has found fans in the local area as well as far-flung places such as Canada. Alongside traditional sweets you will also find delicate handmade chocolates, locally-made chocolate pizza, rock, gourmet jellybeans and freshly-made, melt-in-the-mouth fudge which comes in a myriad of flavours (and was my personal favourite!).

The shop was set up by husband-and-wife team Jess and Martin Barnett who wanted to draw on their retail experience and family links to the confectionery trade.

Jess says: “Martin and I are both from Nottingham but we’d been living in Australia where Martin was working as a confectionery buyer. He gained a lot of experience and connections out there which he has brought back with him.

“We’ve also got connections to Barnett Confectioners in Radford who has been making sweets since the 1890s and to a confectioners in Huthwaite which makes the rock.”

Gourmet jelly beans in traditional yet modern jars.

But if you have visions of this being like an old fashioned shop, with sweets crammed into every available space, you’d be mistaken. The shop is light and airy and the jars and pouches have been designed with a modern customer in mind.

“People can still get the sweets they know and love but they are packaged in a modern way,” added Jess.

“It’s a mix of old and new. We’re just reminding people of the excitement that sweets can bring and people have responded really well so far. There have been conversations on Facebook and Twitter and we get nice comments every day.”

The Treat Kitchen has plenty of Christmas gift ideas which will appeal to people of all ages, including hampers, boxes of chocolates and jars of sweets. There are even specialist options such as sugar-free sweets.

If you can’t visit the store in person then make sure you check out the new online store. Shop before Sunday and you will also receive a 20% discount on your order – perfect if you want to stock up for the festive season. 

Picture: Jess Barnett is pictured in the shop with some of the treats on offer.