Each year I have the honor and pleasure of participating in the judging panel of the National Gingerbread Competition in Asheville, NC.  And each year the entries astound me as to their ingenuity and new-found creativity.  This year was no different. 

"Rusted" Gingerbread Roof created by Michael Billella

Over 200 contestants create displays in categories based on age: kids, teen, youth, and adult.  This year, one of the youth entries had the adults running scared.  Basing her theme on the 2009 Disney-Pixar movie “Up”, Skyla Delerme created a playful representation of the balloon-laden house…complete with hand-modeled figures of the movie’s main characters Carl, Russell, Dug, and Kevin.  Skyla’s attention to detail, use of color, and modeling techniques were unsurpassed in this category, grabbing her first place honors in the Teen category.

Other houses of special note included the show’s Grand Prize winnning Matryoshka doll themed display created by Heather Lewis of Austell, GA.  The display included a meticulously decorated set of 6 nesting dolls designed to depict Santa Claus, an Elf, a reindeer, a snowman, a gingerbread man, and a traditional Russian Matryoshka girl.  Every detail of Heather’s entire display was artfully executed, using a variety of decorating techniques in unique ways.  Most impressive was Heather’s ability to bake gingerbread in a curved shape with such neat and even seams.  The edible glaze used to finish the dolls gave the entire display a look that took it beyond gingerbread and into toy-making.

Three other displays that caught my eye were Noah’s Ark, created by MaryJo Dowling of Westford, MA and Barb Evans of Edelstein, Illinois and a house designed with a “rusted” roof created by a first-time competitor who drove all the way from Oklahoma, and a Rocking Horse created by Angel Adkins of Kodak, TN.  The hand-modeled figures used to decorate the Ark were full of personality; the rusted element of the roof something I’d never seen done before; and the wood finish of the rocking horse so realistic that I had to touch it to believe it was gingerbread! 

The National Gingerbread Competition is held annually in November at the beautiful Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.  

Entries are judged on overall appearance, originality/creativity, difficulty, precision and consistency of theme.

Registration information is available online. For additional photos from this year’s competition visit the National Gingerbread Competition page on Facebook.

Mardi Gras is a great excuse for a mid-week dessert celebration. Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday” in English, marks the end of the Carnival season in New Orleans. Carnival begins on January 6, on the Feast of the Epiphany and ends the day before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Throughout the Carnival celebration, there are masked balls, parades, and good food. In New Orleans, as in France, the Epiphany is marked by a party featuring the “Galette des Rois”. The Galette des Rois or almond cake literally translates to Cake of the Kings. This cake, a pithivier, is made of flaky puff pastry filled with a layer of almond cream into which a “feve” (usually a bean or small trinket) is baked. The lucky person who finds the feve in his or her piece of cake becomes the King (or Queen) for the day…and has to host the next Galette des Rois feast party.

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras is an even bigger celebration than France’s Epiphany cake. The New Orleans style (NOLA) King’s Cake is traditionally baked in a ring shape, covered in a flat icing, sometimes filled with fruit or cream cheese, and always decorated in the official Mardi Gras colors of purple, gold, and green. These colors have represented justice, power, and faith respectively, since 1892.

So take advantage of this built-in mid-week holiday (yes, it is an official holiday in Louisiana) and celebrate with either a traditional French pithivier or a NOLA king’s cake. You’ll be glad you did.

The Winter holiday season is associated with a number of traditional desserts, scents, and events.  One that encompasses all three of these is the gingerbread house competition.  One of my favorite Gingerbread House Competitions is the annual national competition hosted by the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.  Held each year in mid-November, this competition attracts competitors in all ages from all over the country.  As a judge of the competition, each year I am impressed by the quality of the work that the competitors show. 

Although this year’s competition has passed, as past winners will tell you, it is never too early to begin thinking and planning for next year.  Enjoy some of my favorite entries from this year’s show below…or catch them on Good Morning America on December 24.  You may also view photos of the top three winning entries from each age category online at the Grove Park Inn’s web site:  https://www.groveparkinn.com/gallery/National-Gingerbread-House-Competition.

In the meantime, grab a little royal icing and some candies and decorate your own house today!