It is that time of year again, folks. The National Gingerbread House Gingerbread Competition at the Omni Grove Park Inn was held last week, and that perennial staple, Head Judge Chef Nicholas Lodge was there presiding over all the pomp and circumstance. And this year television crews from both FoodNetwork and NBC were there filming all the delicious action. As always, we wanted to share all of the amazing gingerbread creations and the winners from all the different categories. Sadly, with all of the network and cable TV crews there, Scott was limited as to what he could capture with his magic camera. So, I give you the top three from the professional category below. However, I do bring good tidings as well! FoodNetwork will be airing their episode, Gingerbread Giants 2, four different times over the holidays! Um, yay! 

FoodNetwork Gingerbread Giants 2

Sunday December 23 - 9pm EST/ 8pm C

Monday December 24 - 12am EST/ 11pm C; 11pm EST/ 10pm C

Tuesday December 25 - 2am EST/ 1am C

Now, without further ado, the top three winners of the 2019 National Gingerbread House Competition at the Omni Grove Park Inn!

Scott has assured me that while a picture is worth a thousand words, no photos could do these three gingerbread "houses" proper justice. They are just too spectacular to allow a camera to catch every intricate and edible detail on each of these three winning entries. You're in luck because Scott was able to take a brief video of the winning design! Click here for the video! 

Don't forget to tune into FoodNetwork in December to see all the entries and footage of the three winners!

 Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie 

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2017 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award

WINNER of the 2017 Golden Tier Educator of the Year Award

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS! Last week the Omni Grove Park Inn hosted its annual National Gingerbread Competition, marking 25 years of this amazing event. People of all ages, from all over the world, bake and decorate and make their way to Asheville, North Carolina every November to show off their delicious masterpieces. And these gingerbread "houses" are truly masterpieces. 

The special anniversary also meant that the FoodNetwork was on site filming this year's competition! Scott wasn't able to get quite as many photos this year due to all the filming. Bad news for Scott... BUT good news for all of you because the FoodNetwork will be airing the Omni Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition's 25th Anniversary Special sometime in December. The special will be an hour long, and as soon as we know the details with date and air-time I will share it with you here on the blog!

Let's take a look at some of Chef Nicholas' favorite entries from each of the categories, starting with the Child group.

Selections from the Youth Category:

The talented teen category:

Without further ado.... I give you the top three finishers from the 25th Annual Omni Grove Part Inn National Gingerbread House Competition

Third Place

Second Place

Grand Prize Winner!

I also wanted to spotlight the judging team! Once again, Chef Nicholas was Lead Judge, and his team this year was spectacular! They do not have an easy job. No, sir. There are so many entries in each category, and a set of very specific rules that must be followed. Occasionally some of the entries are even drilled into to ensure all rules have be respected. 

This year not only marks the 25th anniversary of Nicholas Lodge's International Sugar Art Collection, it also marks the 25th anniversary of another tradition that the ISAC family holds near and dear: the Omni Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition! 

Chef Nicholas has been judging the National Gingerbread House Competition, at the Omni Grove Park Inn, for many years (quite a few of those as lead judge). This year was no exception, but I do believe that this was the first year that judges and competitors alike needed to brave the terrible wildfires that have been affecting the area! Despite the treacherous weather conditions, there was about 150 fantastic entries this year. While Chef Nicholas lead his team of judges in selecting the winners, Scott was kind enough to take photos of the top ten finalists in each division, so that I could share them with you all! 

Have you heard about pop-up stores? Pop-up events are so hot right now. The first one popped up in Los Angeles in 1997, and now these short terms shops can be found all over the US, Canada, UK, and even as far as Australia! These shops and events are short term, sometimes just a single day, sometimes a few weeks. In 2002 Target opened a pop-up store on a boat at Chelsea Pier in New York City; cell phones providers, airlines, clothing designers, bands, and even restaurants have popped up in different places to the delight of shoppers. 

These short term shops and sales, and events can even be seasonal. That's where ISAC comes in: we are hosting our very own pop-up event starting December 3, 2016! If you are in the Atlanta, Georgia area this December, we would love to have you visit our very own pop-up event: Gingerbread Depot!

Studio B will be transformed into a gingerbread construction zone! All of the supplies will be ready and waiting; when you and your family arrive, your house will be assembled and ready to be designed and decorated! All the candy and icing necessary will be included with the house; of course if you wanted to go for a bolder design, we will have additional candy and icing available. 

ISAC is offering two hour sessions in the morning and afternoons on the following days in December:

Saturday, Dec. 3rd
Wednesday, Dec. 7th
Friday, Dec. 9th
Saturday, Dec. 10th
Wednesday, Dec. 14th
Friday, Dec. 16th
Saturday, Dec. 17th

Gingerbread Depot is the perfect place to make holiday memories. Families, grandparents and grandchildren, couples, and even friends can come together this December and have a little fun with us at our Gingerbread Depot! If you would like to secure your spot, give us a call at 770-453-9449! We can't wait to see you pop in to our pop-up event!

Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie

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Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award. 

When I was growing up, one of my favorites things to do during the holiday season was to build a gingerbread house. I say, "WAS," because as I grew up and starting building the house on my own I realized how much WORK it was! Cutting and baking the ginger bread (or even going to the store and buying a kit), setting up your workspace and all the necessary supplies, constructing the house and waiting for the royal icing to dry... and that's before you get to the fun of decorating! Oh, then you have to clean everything up! Oy! Sadly, for me and probably many other families, the planning, preparation, and clean up just outweighed the fun and memory making of building gingerbread houses as a family!

I miss the happy memories of being silly with my brother and parents as we decorate a yummy little holiday house, and I want that back now that I have kids of my own. Well, Scott decided that maybe ISAC could become a tasty, gingerbread construction site over the holiday season- and now we have Gingerbread Depot! 

23 Annual National Gingerbread House Competition

Earlier this week Chef Nicholas took up his judging duties at The Omni Grover Park Inn's 23 Annual National Gingerbread House Competition. As always all of the competitors delivered incredible gingerbread pieces, and judging was no easy task! This year's Grand Prize winner received a pretty spectacular prize pack valued at $7500 dollars: $5000 cash prize, 2-night Club Level stay at The Omni Grove Park Inn (including dinner, breakfast, and a spa visit), and a 2-day class with Chef Nicholas (including Renshaw products valued at $600). Man, I'd like to win that! Well... I bet you'd like me to show you some photos from the event, especially all the big winners! Oh, and after you enjoy all the gingerbread eye candy be sure to read about the two giveaways at the end of the blog!

It's never too soon to start!

Last fall I wrote a blog about Chef Nicholas judging the annual National Gingerbread House Competition, hosted by the Omni Grove Park Inn. Well, now it's late summer a year later, and at ISAC this week Chef Nicholas received a letter asking him to judge the competition again this year! While we are excited to once again be part of this amazing event, I thought I would talk a bit about being a competitor in the National Gingerbread House Competition.

Chef Nicholas got back Tuesday after judging the National Gingerbread Competition held at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, North Carolina. This was the 22nd year of the competition and Chef Nicholas tenth year as judge. Prior to his tenure as judge for the National Gingerbread Competition, Chef Nicholas judges two Food Network Challenge episodes shot at the resort: "Gingerbread Mansions "and "Gingerbread Champions." This week, you are lucky enough to hear about the competition and judging process straight from the judges mouth! Chef Nicholas himself wrote this week's blog! Enjoy!

Oh, and be sure to read all about our fabulous upcoming holiday sales at the end of this blog!