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McNair holds first gingerbread competition

Matthew McNair's culinary arts program was delighted to hold its First Annual High School Gingerbread Competition on Thursday, Dec. 5. Chef Raymond Young organized the event and sent registration packages to teaching kitchens throughout B.C.
Dora Ho

Matthew McNair's culinary arts program was delighted to hold its First Annual High School Gingerbread Competition on Thursday, Dec. 5. Chef Raymond Young organized the event and sent registration packages to teaching kitchens throughout B.C.

Other than the base structures and any lighting, all components of the gingerbread creations had to be edible. Students could work in either groups or individually, and there were a total of 20 entries.

The projects were viewed and evaluated by a panel of four judges on their overall appearance; originality and creativity; craftsmanship and effective use of gingerbread, icing and candy.

Talking with participants and with the teachers and staff who supervised them, it was evident that the process of deliberating on what and how to make their structures was an interesting and rewarding one.

The entries varied from idyllic winter cabins and Christmas weddings to a "Grinchy Christmas" and "The Walking Bread" - a fun zombie take on the television series The Walking Dead.

The judging was no easy task, but in the end, prizes were awarded to the following participants:

In the Group Category: 1. "Christmas Story" submitted by Richmond secondary culinary arts 2. "Christmas in Colt Country" submitted by Richmond secondary resource department 3. "Santa's Workshop" submitted by RC Palmer secondary

In the Individual Category: 1. "Mecca" by Israa Sadiq, McNair culinary arts program 2. "Grandma's House" by Montana Martin, McNair culinary arts program 3. "Merry-Go-Round" by Diala Aldaas,

McNair culinary arts program Rather than giving out trophies, we decided to award the winners gift bags containing baking supplies and tools to encourage them in their love of baking.

Thank you to our suppliers for their generous support of this event: GFS Canada, Snow Cap Baking Products and SYSCO Canada.

Thank you to all the participants for your creativity and perseverance. It was a wonderfully festive event and we look forward to seeing more of your delightful creations in years to come! Dora Ho is a culinary arts instructor at Matthew McNair secondary.