The National Gingerbread House Competition, held annually at the Omni Grove Park Inn in Asheville, reigns as one of the nation’s most competitive and celebrated holiday events. The contest draws hundreds of entries from all over the world, is judged by renowned food and media professionals, and often airs on television programs like Good Morning America and The Today Show.
In short, it’s a big deal.
A big deal for the bakers who spend countless hours designing and crafting their 100% edible entries. And a big deal for the attendees, many of whom return year after year to enjoy the holiday splendor of the Grove Park Inn and marvel at the artistry of the gingerbread creations.
In 2023, Deborah Kinton and her niece, Faith An, residents of Fuquay-Varina, earned the competition’s grand prize with their gingerbread house Christmas at the Tongkonan. It was only their third year of competing.
The gingerbread art takes hundreds of hours to create, most of them spent in this workshop studio.
An recalls the moment the award was announced: “The whole world stops for 20 seconds. I have never been more confused and shocked in my entire life. Sincerely, we were gobsmacked.
A gingerbread tribute built to honor family members who lost their lives in hurricane Helene. This piece from Faith An and Deborah Kinton will be displayed in the Asheville area, along with submissions from other gingerbread artists, during December in lieu of the National Gingerbread House Competition.
“The other competitors are just so amazing. Their work is so intricate and so precise, and it’s only our third year.”
Kinton adds, “I didn’t know what to say; I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to keep from ugly crying.”
Christmas at the Tongkonan distinguished itself, An believes, because of its unique design. “It was something that most people had never seen before.”
The duo call themselves the Difficult Dessert Devotees — and after witnessing the curved roofline, intricate textures, and cultural details on their winning creation, it’s a fitting name.
The unique concept surfaced after An spent several weeks researching Christmas traditions in Indonesia and came across the culture of the Torajan people and their traditional tongkonan homes.
The pair’s 2023 grand prize-winning entry, Christmas at the Tongkonan.
“I was struck with the home and the designs that they paint on the sides and just how grand the structure is. I spent about a month on research and learning about the culture because I was so fascinated,” An says.
One month may sound lengthy, but it’s small change for premier gingerbread artists like Kinton and An, who spend the majority of a year perfecting their national entries.
“People always ask us how long it took. It’s really hard to say with all the design and the research — at least several hundred hours. Towards the end, we were working pretty much every day, and 20 to 40 hours on the weekends,” says An.
“We’ve learned so much; that’s something that I really love about the hobby,” says An. “It’s not just gingerbread. It’s modeling chocolate. It’s gum paste. It’s fondant. It’s learning how to work with a lot of different materials: how to sculpt, how to build, how to be an architect.”
Kinton and An admit that frustration sometimes creeps in during the yearlong process, which includes multiple rounds of trial and error perfecting textures, colors, pliability, shape, or sturdiness of their materials.
“But then there’s some moments where something unexpected works, and that gets really exciting,” says Kinton.
Another surprise along their gingerbread journey has been how inclusive the other bakers and artists are, even to a relatively novice pair like the Difficult Dessert Devotees.
Finished 2024 competition entry by Faith An and Deborah Kinton. After the National Gingerbread House Competion was cancelled, the Difficult Dessert Devotees entered this gingerbread creation in Kentucky’s Mustard Seed Hill competition.
“The other artists just love the craft. They want everyone to succeed and accomplish their visions. Most are upfront about how they do things. They share tips and tricks,” says An.
In addition to the overall grand prize, the Fuquay pair also earned the specialty award of Most Unusual Ingredient for their use of dental sutures — “They are technically edible; they absorb in your mouth,” says An.
After the 2023 competition, it wasn’t long before An dove into research for the 2024 entry, again seeking inspiration from Indonesian culture.
“We’re taking a risk. We’re trying some new techniques we haven’t really mastered, but we have nothing to lose,” says An. “I feel like we have a reputation now, and that’s a bit more pressure. So I’m trying to look at it the same way we did the previous years: We just want to bring something that we’re proud of, that executes the complex vision that we set out.”
The concept involves a young Indonesian child playing a traditional xylophone sitting atop a mosaic pedestal table — all handmade, all edible, with as much cultural accuracy as possible.
Their execution plan again included months of work and dozens of steps. An used Adobe Illustrator to craft an original pattern design for the clothing. Homemade ginger clay and a 3D printed model formed the mosaic. Kinton shaped arms and legs out of Rice Krispies cereal. An took a sculpting class to assist with crafting the head and face.
“It can be as complex as you want to make it,” says An, adding that some competitors even utilize lasers to cut gingerbread.
All of that work and research came to a screeching halt when Hurricane Helene passed through western North Carolina in September, closing the Grove Park Inn and devastating Asheville and the entire region.
“There was a lot of uncertainty,” says An, “a lot of spirited discussion in the gingerbread groups online — very passionate people on both slides thinking, ‘Oh, this gives so much joy to the community; they need this.’ And then, ‘Are you kidding? These people just lost their lives.’”
“We had three family members who passed, but we’re also disappointed to not have the competition because we’ve been working on it for the whole year,” says Kinton. “There were so many mixed feelings.”
Ultimately, the hotel canceled the 2024 national competition but extended an invitation to the artists to display their work throughout the Asheville area in a show of support and camaraderie.
“Some of our gingerbread friends thought of doing a separate piece for Asheville, and we just thought, oh, of course we should do that,” says An.
To honor their relatives who lost their lives, the duo designed a gingerbread tribute with a framed photograph of their family members silhouetted against the mountain skyline, which will be displayed in the Asheville area during December.
The pair decided to finish their national entry and submit it to the Mustard Seed Hill Gingerbread Competition in Millersburg, Kentucky. Judging takes place on Dec. 6.
The National Gingerbread House Competition will return to the Omni Grove Park Inn in 2025, and it won’t be long before the Difficult Dessert Devotees have a new concept underway in their Fuquay-Varina workshop.
“If you haven’t been to the display, it really is worth the trip,” says An. “The hotel itself is kind of magical with the giant fireplaces, the Christmas decorations, and the entries. We went back to the display three or four times after the winners were announced. I enjoy looking at every single entry, from the 6-year-olds’ to the 60-year-olds’.
“They are really amazing artists. There are so many tiny details that you can’t see with just a passing glance. … We’re just so honored that we got to be considered among them and special enough to be in the same room.”
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