A recent trip to Disneyland by Executive Pastry Chef Jeremy Garcia sparked the idea for this year’s retro-styled gingerbread rocket ship display. The vertical gingerbread structure will be ready for launch at Stein Eriksen Lodge on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. The capsule, fit for travel and style to the likes of famous jet-setters Flash Gordon or Marvin the Martian, will stand in the Mountain Lodge beside an extravagant, 32-foot decorated Christmas tree, as part of the Lodge’s out-of-this-world holiday décor.

Chef Garcia continues the 18-year gingerbread tradition that guests enthusiastically anticipate every holiday season. This year’s rocket ship features hundreds of pounds of fresh-baked gingerbread, 150 pounds of flour, 8 gallons of molasses, hundreds of eggs, 50 pounds of sugar, and over 40 pounds of butter. The construction of the gingerbread display began in early November thanks to a talented crew of gingerbread specialists, led by Chef Garcia and Chef Zane Holmquist, VP of Food & Beverage Operations and Corporate Chef. Between the engineering and culinary teams, the vessel requires approximately a dozen staff to create and construct.

“Our elaborate gingerbread display has become a staple of Stein Eriksen Lodge holiday traditions for our guests, and we are thrilled to unveil our spacecraft constructed entirely of sweets,” said Garcia. “We are incredibly proud of this year’s groundbreaking display, equipped to ‘boldly go where no (gingerbread) man – or woman – has gone before.’  My favorite parts are the small details we always strive to put into the creation. We like to hide fun and silly things on the gingerbread so guests can enjoy trying to find them all.”

Former gingerbread presentations have included movie scenes from Star Wars, Peanuts, Frozen, Despicable Me 2, and Harry Potter, and intricate models of a Norwegian Viking ship, whimsical carousel, the Eiffel Tower, and the Empire State Building.