None — ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- An Austell woman who saved 11 gingerbread books rather than clothes and shoes when the floods hit the Atlanta area in 2009 was recently named the National Gingerbread House Competition grand prize winner at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.
The judges picked Heather Lewis' Russian nesting dolls creation as the 2010 winner.
Lewis had her entry number, inn reservations and a Hansel and Gretel gingerbread design planned for the 2009 competition. She began construction on her creation when on Sept. 21, severe weather hit the Atlanta area. The flood of September 2009 was labeled "epic" as rivers and creeks crested well above flood stage. Information from the National Weather Service called the flood a once in 10,000 years event.
Lewis' home was flooded.
"My house was flooded with about 10 feet of water before noon that day," Lewis told Nelson's News on wsbtv.com.
"We took a boat to the second level of my home that same evening in attempt to save some items from the second story," Lewis said. "I had so little time that morning to grab belongings and important papers. I checked on all of my gingerbread characters, and sure enough they had all melted and distorted due to the extreme moisture and heat. My templates had all curled up."
Lewis said she had about 20 minutes to pack up her valuables.
"Sure enough, I packed up my collection of 11 gingerbread books over more clothes and shoes!" she said.
Lewis' attention turned to getting her family back into their home by Thanksgiving. With other concerns, Lewis dropped out of the 2009 event at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.
"One of the saddest e-mails I have ever sent, was the one I sent to the Grove Park Inn, telling them to please withdraw my entry number and to cancel my inn reservation," she said.
2010 was a different story.
Lewis' Russian nesting dolls creation was based upon a Christmas gift her husband gave her in 2009. She based the piece around the smallest doll, a traditional Russian girl. The gingerbread Santa Claus, Rudolph, elf, snowman and boy exist in the girl's Christmas dreams. It was her first entry into the National Gingerbread House Competition.
"I completed my gingerbread piece in seven weeks for this competition," Lewis said. "I did not log my hours this season, but worked on it every day for a few hours at a time. It did take me more than two weeks alone to bake the gingerbread dolls. Each doll took about two hours a piece to bake, making it four hours total for the one doll."
Out of hundreds of entries from 20 states, it was named the grand prize winner of the 18th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition.
"This was one of the most exciting and competitive National Gingerbread House Competitions to ever take place at The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa," said Ronald Morin, vice president and managing director of The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa.
"The judges truly had a difficult time and these winners deserve gingerbread glory for the beauty and creativity they put into their works of holiday culinary art," Morin continued. "We had contestants from as far away as Texas, Kansas, Wisconsin and New York enter the event this year. And since the gingerbread houses have to be transported and dropped off at the Grove Park Inn, you know we had some very serious competitors."
Entries were judged on overall appearance, originality and creativity, difficulty, precision and consistency of theme. Except for the base, the entries had to be constructed entirely of edible materials. The gingerbread creations could not exceed two feet wide, two feet long and two feet high. While most of the entries were gingerbread houses, entries did not have to be a house. The gingerbread creativity featured themes like castles, barnyards, country inns and windmills.
All of the entries in the National Gingerbread House Competition will be on display at the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa now through Jan. 2. The public is invited to view the displays any Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Guests at the resort and those dining at one of the restaurants on the property may view the displays at any time.
Several of the winning gingerbread houses will be taken to New York City the week of Dec. 18 for an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America."
And Lewis said she's already planning next year's creation.
"I had an idea hit me as we were driving out of the parking lot of the Grove Park Inn to head back home from the competition," she said.
"I have already been making purchases and gathering items that I will need for next year's piece. Next year's design is not as crazy as Russian nesting dolls, but it is something I have not seen made in gingerbread before. I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can impress the judges again next year!"
Here are some photos from some of the gingerbread houses entered into this year's competition.
Other interesting facts:
• From 1993 to 2009, there have been more than 3,000 competition entries from 26 states.
• The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa's National Gingerbread House Competition started with 12 competition entries in 1993 and has had as many as 397 entries in recent years.
• The Grove Park Inn's National Gingerbread House Competition has received entries was 26 states over its history. Those states are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont and Wisconsin.
• Tens of thousands of people visit The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa to view the National Gingerbread House Competition entries during the month-and-a-half they are displayed. The competition reaches millions of others through national media coverage.
• "Good Morning America" has been hosting winners of the National Gingerbread House Competition since 1998.
• "Good Morning America's" Diane Sawyer was the first to recognize the competition as a national competition.
• The Food Network and the Travel Channel have featured The Grove Park Inn's National Gingerbread House Competition.