Pastry Chefs Create Gingerbread Replicas of Iconic New York Buildings: Where Can You See Them?

The delicious Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off in New York City showcases iconic buildings made from gingerbread. Time-out tells the details.

Exhibition Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off opened in Manhattan at the Museum of the City of New York.

Edible art

All gingerbread houses on Show made entirely from edible materials – cookies, icing and candy. It’s an incredibly difficult and demanding task. This year, 60 ambitious bakers competed for 20 spots, said the museum’s chief operating officer, Gerry Gallagher.

On the subject: New York's Main Christmas Tree Has Already Arrived at Rockefeller Center: When Will It Be Lighted and How to See the Christmas Beauty

This year's theme is "Famous New York". Show The Bronx Gingerbread Zoo and the Prospect Park Boathouse can be seen. The bakers have interestingly interpreted the theme to include other typical Big Apple sites.

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“Some of the bakers this year have gone away from iconic buildings and gone for iconic things,” Gallagher said. “So we’ve got pizza, we’ve got a garbage truck, we’ve got subway stations. I love that people are really thinking outside the box.”

Each year, judges award prizes to the best bakers. The third annual competition included experts in baking and fine arts.

A unique masterpiece

The Wonder Wheel is a special feature of the exhibit. Yukon Cornelius rides the gingerbread Ferris wheel while eating a hot dog, while elves have fun and Rudolph shows off his red nose. It's one of 20 incredible gingerbread structures in New York City that you can see on display this holiday season.

The creation of this confection required about 100 hours of work from Suzanne Caliendo of Something Sugared and Mario DiBiase of SottoVoce restaurant. The bakers combined baking skills with engineering ideas. The team collected numerous awards from this year's judges.

DiBiase said he and Caliendo decided to do the Wonder Wheel "because it was so hard to make."

They also wanted to evoke fun and excitement with their retro design. The details of the design are astounding: 100 sticks of gum to create the “asphalt”; Santa riding a train; an elf taking a selfie; and seagulls stealing hot dogs.

"We wanted to be different, we wanted to have fun," DiBiase said. "I think we did that."

Another winning baker was Petrula "Patty" Lambrou of Patty Pops, who created a gingerbread Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, and Fordham University amid a snowy, candy-strewn landscape.

The exhibit also features a tiny Rockefeller Center skating rink, as well as gingerbread Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, Belmont Park Racetrack, and Fort Wadsworth.

The exhibit is open until January 12 at 1220 5th Ave.