Nemacolin Woodlands Resort Chef Builds Life-Sized Gingerbread House

FARMINGTON (KDKA) -- Gingerbread is one of pastry chef Scott Tennant's many specialties at Nemacolin Woodlands resort. So are his table-top gingerbread houses. Imagine being able to walk inside one of those houses.

Now we can! A newly constructed "bakery" is the fifth life-size gingerbread sculpture built in the Chateau's grand lobby. A new one appears each holiday season. The gingerbread covers a sculpture of wood, following the chef's design.

"The carpenters started on it the beginning of October," he recalls. "And then we got it the week before Thanksgiving, and we finished the day before Thanksgiving."

It's called the Fat Bird Bakery, named for the famous "fat bird" sculpture that welcomes visitors to Nemacolin. But when you have a building that's good enough to eat, the chef admits, "We do lose stuff every day. We come down here once a day, or every other day, and replace it. But as long as they stay with the candy, it's not too hard. We have candy in the kitchen that we can come right down and screw back on."

Though the bricks are gingerbread, the mortar is royal icing that's very enticing.

"I actually have a daughter who's eight, and brought her a couple weeks ago to see it for the first time," Chef Tennant says. "And she said she wants a house made of gingerbread, so whenever she gets hungry, she can have a piece."

Join The Conversation On The KDKA Facebook Page
Stay Up To Date, Follow KDKA On Twitter