By LESLIE COLLINS
Northeast News
December 19, 2012 

Vibrant gingerbread houses lined the tables at Union Station, some petite and others of grandeur elegance.

Pretzel and candy cane fences lined the frosted yards and one house featured a glistening pool made of melted blue Jolly Ranchers. On another house, Santa’s reindeer graced the multi-colored roof, waiting for Santa to return.

For the first time in its 20-year history, the Kansas City Public Schools’ (KCPS) annual Gingerbread House Contest was on public display and the fate of the winners were in the public’s hands. During previous years, the gingerbread houses were kept at the Manual Career & Technical Center where staff voted for the best gingerbread creations.

Thirty KCPS culinary students participated in the project and were judged on completeness of the house, creativity, clean trim and overall appearance.

Culinary teacher Dennis Charest said the students made the gingerbread dough from scratch and used templates to measure the angle of the roof and cut out walls. For 13 days, the students worked on their creative masterpieces which are completely edible.

“They did an excellent job,” Charest said of the gingerbread houses.

The Gingerbread House Contest is a requirement of the culinary program and teaches students about follow-through and time management, Charest said.

KCPS’ gingerbread houses were on display at Union Station Dec. 10-18. Awards will be presented at a later date.