See the winners from the 2019 National Gingerbread House Competition at Omni Grove Park Inn

Mackensy Lunsford | The Citizen-Times

Show Caption Hide Caption Doors open at 2019 Gingerbread Competition Competitors swarm into the ballroom of the Grove Park Inn for the announcement of the winners of the 27th Annual National Gingerbread House Competition.

ASHEVILLE - Tracey Johnston-Crum stood in the Omni Grove Park Inn's Grand Ballroom, a room laced with the scent of icing despite being cooled to a brisk 67 degrees.

That was comfortable enough for the culinary competitors in the 27th annual National Gingerbread House Competition, who mostly just wanted the parts of their intricate gingerbread creations to stay in place.

The judges knew who had won by 4 p.m. on Nov. 18. By 5:02 p.m., the challengers were already growing restless in the hall.

"They're chanting," said Johnston-Crumb, tipping her head toward the locked door. What exactly they were chanting was indiscernible, but when the doors were opened, the chants turned to squeals as contestants as young as 5 poured into the room, some skipping.

The adults were just as excited, and they had good reason to be. Grand prize winners in the adult category stood to win $5,000 and a generous prize package including a cooking class in Atlanta and, of course, a fancy ribbon.

The way the house crumbles

The best three gingerbread houses in each category — child, youth, teen and adult — received cash prizes. But the competitors had reason to cheer just for being in the room. Gingerbread craftsmen must haul their houses over miles of mountains to get to the Grove Park Inn, and some of those entries crumbled like the proverbial cookie on the journey.

Gingerbread artists can work for as long as 600 hours on their ships sailing seas of sugar glass, scenes from the Nutcracker and, sometimes, traditional houses. But the final minutes can sometimes be their downfall, Johnston-Crum said. "It's the drive here that's the most dangerous, and getting them in the door. Sometimes it's just getting it out of the car."

To aid gingerbread artists who came from as far away as Redding, California, the Grove Park Inn had a triage station set up with candies and royal icing. Some contestants were repairing their houses up until the last minute. Traditional glue is verboten; everything above the base must be made of edible materials, 75% of which must be gingerbread.

Technically, the deadline for entry closed at 6 p.m. Nov. 17, and people were still rolling in with their newly repaired entries at 6:40 p.m. Though 225 challengers entered this year, just more than 200 made it to the Grand Ballroom.

"We had some tears yesterday," Johnston-Crum said.

'Gingerbread royalty' crowned

The Gingerbread Competition is a national phenomenon that began as a community event in 1992 among a few locals. It now draws attention from the likes of the Food Network, which has featured past participants on shows such as the Haunted Gingerbread Showdown.

Now, more than a thousand Grove Park Inn staff members work for months to ready the historic venue for the contest and the influx of people it brings.

A roster of professional judges grades each entry on criteria including consistency of theme and creativity. The panel boasts professionals like chef and author Carla Hall, formerly of TV's "The Chew" and "Top Chef," and chef Mark Seaman, a certified master sugar artist and chef-instructor at The French Pastry School.

They spend hours working to determine who among the hopeful will "join the ranks of gingerbread royalty," as Johnston-Crum put it. This year, the queen of the competition was Gail Oliver, of Johnson, Tennessee, with her whimsical scene of an animal tiki bar, The Water Hole.

"I'm in shock," Oliver said after picking up her grand prize ribbon. "I don't do any icing or sugar work — I'm more of an artist than a baker."

Oliver described herself as a sculptor whose medium is, of course, gingerbread. Her tiki hut was impressive, surrounded by an isomalt lake. But the scene inside was incredible: a colorful tortoise bellied up to a bar tended by a fox, sugar-glass bottles of faux liquor on the shelves.

"When you look inside, there's some brilliant detail," said judge and pastry chef Aaron Morgan. "There's a lot going on. The longer you look at it, the more things you see. There's just a lot of depth to it."

Here is the full list of winners:

Traveled the farthest to compete: Jessica Frost, from Redding, California.

Child

1st: Adair Cary; Marshall; A Ride Through the Forest.

2nd: The Tinker Kids; Lexington, Kentucky; The Elves on the Shelf.

3rd: Glitter Girls; Blue Ridge, Georgia; The Land of Sweets.

Youth

1st: Anderson Adams; Raleigh; Coat of Many Colors.

2nd: Evalyn Routh; Climax, North Carolina; A Musical Christmas.

3rd: Emma Rhinehart; Columbia, Tennessee; Santa's Singers.

Teen

1st: Courtland High German Program; Spotsylvania, Virginia; Christkindlmarket.

2nd: Sarah and Jenna Rhinehart; Columbia, Tennessee; Seasonal Succulents.

3rd: Institute of Innovation; Gaffney, South Carolina; The Christmas Tree Lot.

Adult

1st: Gail Oliver; Johnson City, Tennessee; The Water Hole.

2nd: Beatriz Müller; Innisfil, Ontario; Perspective.

3rd: Larry and Julia Vorpahl; Ellijay, Georgia; Caravan Christmas.

How to see them

Winning creations will be on display Nov. 20-Jan. 4 at the Omni Grove Park Inn, available for non-guests to view after 3 p.m. Sunday or anytime Monday-Thursday, based on parking availability and excluding holidays. Display access is subject to hotel capacity. More at omnihotels.com.

More on Grove Park Inn & gingerbread: