Peabody gingerbread display has Willy Wonka flair
Willy Wonka would be proud of The Peabody’s pastry chefs.
This year’s annual gingerbread display is an homage to the classic movie “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.” Oompa Loompas, a chocolate factory, a chocolate fountain and even Charlie’s house are part of the 20-footwide-by-7-foot deep display in The Peabody lobby.
The quantities of sugar, candies and ingredients that went into this candy land are staggering — Willy Wonkaworthy amounts. Among the numbers: The gingerbread dough used 70 pounds of brown sugar and 117 pounds of molasses; 210 pounds of powdered sugar went into the icing alone; and 100 pounds of assorted candies, 65 pounds
of fondant and 40 pounds of chocolate glaze are also part of the decor.
Executive Pastry Chef Konrad Spitzbart starts planning the annual display as soon as the current year’s display is ready for viewing in the lobby.
“He is always trying to outdo himself every year,” said Elaine Jones, assistant executive pastry chef and Spitzbart’s right-hand on the project.
How the tradition began
Spitzbart began the tradition of an annual gingerbread display about 10 years ago. The original displays were much smaller and used to be set up by the entrance to Chez Philippe. A life-size Santa Claus was one of the first. A year or two later, Spitzbart expanded the display to include several trains from the Thomas the Tank Engine book and cartoon series.
The theme changes each year. Spitzbart is the visionary and candy wizard behind each design.
As he continued his quest to make each year’s display bigger and better, eventually the display had to move to a larger space. For the past few years, the display has found its home just off the main lobby, near the valet parking entrance.
It’s a tradition the hotel management was happy to support.
“The holidays in general are a magical time at The Peabody,” said Kelly Earnest, director of marketing and communications at The Peabody Memphis. “Konrad’s gingerbread displays really enhance that experience and is a lot of fun for families.”
The construction timeline
Actual construction of the gingerbread display begins in late July or early August with the hotel engineering team. Spitzbart presents his design to engineers so they can build the platform for the display. This year, their construction was one of the largest to date, measuring 20 feet wide by 7 feet deep.
The pastry team jumps into action in early September, baking gingerbread and constructing the various design elements.
“We start the process early as this is a side job for all of us. We squeeze it in when we have extra time,” Jones said.
The advance work is also crucial to the stability of the structures.
“The gingerbread has to dry out for several weeks so it will stand up properly,” Jones said of the display meant to by enjoyed visually, not eaten.
The display is built in sections in the pastry shop. The construction space is actually a back storage room that they clean out every fall just for this project.
“The reason it is built in sections is it has to be able to fit into the elevators for us to get it to the lobby,” Jones said.
Every year on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving the display is moved in sections down to the lobby, where the pastry team is on hand to assemble it and add the final details. This year, the process was almost a whole day affair, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at about 3 p.m.
The finishing touches
“The decorating the day of is definitely my favorite part,” Jones said. “You get to go in with all the details, using royal icing to add the finishing touches to bring it to life.”
Jones learned her gingerbread expertise through trial-by-fire.
“About six months after I started working here, The Peabody was asked to compete on the Food Network Challenge series ‘The Great Gingerbread Challenge,’” Jones said.
She was part of the team that included Spitzbart and then Chef Philippe Chef Reinaldo Alfonso. Jones had never really worked with gingerbread on this scale before. To no surprise of those who have seen their gingerbread work at the hotel, they won.
That was in 2009, and Jones has been an integral part of this annual tradition since.
The display will be up until the day after Christmas, when all holiday decorations at The Peabody are taken down.
Until then, you may catch a glimpse of one of the pastry department “elves” touching up the display.
“Several times a week, we get a call from the front desk or bell men staff letting us know if a we have a broken chocolate mushroom that needs to be glued back together or a little one has tried to take a piece of candy that we need to replace,” Jones said.
Jennifer Chandler is the Food & Dining Reporter at The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jennifer.chandler@commercialappeal.com. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @cookwjennifer. 70 pounds brown sugar 300 pounds flour
117 pounds molasses 65 pounds shortening