Not your everyday gingerbread house
Posted Dec 19, 2012 03:11:30 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA, Ont. — ‘Tis the season of gingerbread – both men and houses – and one monster of a gingerbread creation is now on display in the lobby of the Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata.
The hotel’s executive chef, Clifford Lyness, has created an edible replica of the hotel, complete with windows, balconies and the surrounding grounds. Lyness, who has competed in gingerbread house competitions in the past, said the cookie version of the hotel took about 300 hours to make.
“It’s made out of rice crispy squares throughout the centre, so that’s the main structure,” Lyness told 1310News. “It’s about four and a half feet tall, and it weighs about 125 lbs. It’s covered in gingerbread, and then rolled fondant on top of that.”
Lyness says he hopes that the gingerbread hotel will last until the Brookstreet has its staff party on January 4.
“It’s all still intact. The first couple of days that we had it up as I was working on it, people were getting a little close, and I was worried about a few things going missing from it,” he laughed. ” You can see the fingerprints on it, where people have gone up and poked it or touched it. But it’s holding up pretty well.”
If the gingerbread-scented display survives into the new year, Lyness said he will dispose of it after the staff have had a chance to get a good look. Even though the entire model is edible, he does not want to serve something that has been out of his kitchen for almost a month.
In the meantime, he’ll be avoiding all gingerbread related food and products for the next little while.
“I couldn’t even look at it. I was out to eat shortly after it was completed, and it came with a ginger-style dessert. I couldn’t even look at it.”
