Vote Early, Vote Often
Gingerbread house contest at Le Parker Meridien benefits City Harvest
Midtown at Christmas is an exercise in sensory overload. From the tourist-trapping mayhem of the windows at Macy"s to the OCD-inducing antiquariana of Bergdorf"s displays, from the scrum for skates at the Rockefeller Center rink to the desperate jingle of the carriage horses at Central Park, it can be easy to flag in the face of so much glitter and sound. Sometimes, simplicity is all you need's no bells, whistles or strobe lights, just creativity, humor and good old-fashioned craftsmanship.
Oh, and cookies. Did we mention cookies?
On view in the atrium of Le Parker Meridien (119 W. 56th St., betw. 6th & 7th Aves.) through Jan. 6 is the hotel"s third annual gingerbread house contest to benefit City Harvest. This year, seven New York City bakeries and restaurants have contributed their take on the candy-coated childhood favorite brought to new architectural heights.
What better way to raise awareness and cash for a nonprofit organization that rescues unused food from restaurants, grocery stores and manufacturers and distributes it to the hungry across the five boroughs than with more food? While the display is free to view, $1 will get you a ballot to vote for your favorite, a highly contested title for the chefs and bakers participating. As one might imagine, the organization has seen need rise over the last 12 months and are especially hopeful this year"s contest will top last year"s draw of over $16,000. Since every dollar allows the organization to bring in four pounds of food, ballot-stuffing is highly encouraged.
Last year"s winner was, suspiciously enough, Norma"s Restaurant at Le Parker Meridien. Home field advantage? We"ll see if their streak continues with this year"s “Mini Parker, a replica of the hotel itself complete with reception desk, restaurant and guest rooms. Don"t worry, they didn"t go so far as to put a mini gingerbread house contest in the lobby, so you won"t get sucked into an M.C. Escher-esque recursive nightmare, tracking tinier upon tinier versions of yourself looking at the model looking at yourself looking at the model.
A strong challenger is first-time participant BLT Steak/Casa Nonna pastry chef Julie Elkind, whose replica of the Central Park boathouse could easily pass for the real thing. OK, so the pillars are peppermint sticks rather than white stone, and the soft green patina on the roof is from the 700 pieces of Orbit sweet mint gum that act as shingles, rather than aged copper. Aside from those slight details, you"d never know the difference. Also in the running is Gramercy Tavern"s Nancy Olson, whose Olson Manor uses gold-leafed pretzel twists as unexpectedly beautiful, delicate crenellation on its gothic roof.
But the creations don"t stay strictly within the realm of the architectural. Unlike in previous years, bakers weren"t given any thematic constraints when they received their instructions earlier this year and were free to build any kind of structure they wanted. Of these, Baked Ideas" typewriter, strung with a rice paper ribbon and spewing forth a sugar cookie alphabet, takes the concept to new creative heights.
The longer you spend looking at the entries, the more delicious details you"ll uncover. Just don"t try to eat them; while the structures are all technically edible (one of the contest rules), the construction material is doctored to make it stronger and less perishable than your average gingerbread man. Thankfully, they still smell just as good, and the hotel"s lobby espresso bar is helpfully selling a number of gingerbread-themed treats to ease your pain. And while you"re in the lobby, pick up a ballot or three from the concierge desk to help bring hungry New Yorkers their own holiday treats.
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