SENIOR LIVING
SENIOR LIVING
Gingerbread Creations a Christmas Tradition at Lanier Village Estates by Lorrie Griffith/editor Dave McTigue learned the art of gingerbread making from a chef at a Hyatt hotel in Richmond, Va. McTigue had just graduated from culinary school and was working an apprenticeship there. “The banquet chef was a big German guy with big rosy cheeks who looked like Santa Claus, and he was doing a gingerbread house,” McTigue recalls. “I was working the night shift, and I would come in early and help him out. He kind of took me in and started letting me work with him, and I really enjoyed it. So I’ve been doing these ever since.” Today, McTigue is culinary director at Lanier Village Estates in Gainesville, Ga., a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) with nearly 500 residents. The facility, on 107 acres, is owned and operated by ACTS RetirementLife Communities, which is based in Philadelphia. More than 400 residents reside in the independent living apartment homes and villas, while the remaining residents reside in either the assisted living apartments in OakBridge Terrace, or the skilled nursing apartments in WillowBrooke Court, all provided on the campus of Lanier Village Estates. About 625 meals are served each day, and more than 228,000 meals are served in a year. After his apprenticeship, McTigue spent time with Hyatt Corp. before joining Marriott and spending 19 years with the hotel chain before joining ACTS. Originally from Rochester, N.Y., McTigue has spent his career in cities on the East Coast. Gainesville is about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
The senior living business allows him to make stronger connections with his “guests” than in the hotel business. “In the hotel, you have people that are only there for a couple of nights, maybe a week at the most, whereas here, these folks live here, they become like family. You get to develop relationships,” McTigue says. Lanier Village Estates was founded in 2001— McTigue joined the facility during its pre-opening phase—and in 2004, McTigue launched the holiday gingerbread tradition. Over the years, McTigue and his culinary staff have done both large single houses and small villages in gingerbread. Last year’s village was surrounded by toy train tracks,
and a toy train, complete with sound, that made its way around the gingerbread village. 2012 was the first time the gingerbread scene was centered on a church. McTigue estimated it took about 300 hours of work to get the scene to its final form. He carved the base out of eight blocks of foam material, working for about three days on that portion of the project. Once the base was completed, the tableau came together in six days, starting the Monday after Thanksgiving. About 15 culinary team members participated in the project at various times. It was unveiled the first weekend in December. A month later, it was still largely intact. Royal icing covered the foam base to make a snowy landscape. It also was used to make trees, icicles and the snow covering the roof of the gingerbread chapel. Fondant was used to create the people and animals—Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus, Santa Claus and his reindeer, carolers, snowmen, elves, owls, squirrels and even the Abominable Snowman, who was placed in a recess in the base so it would be at children’s eye level. Sugar was melted and colored to form the stained glass windows as well as the river that runs through the scene (a polar bear is rafting on the river). Ice cream cones make a good starting place for the trees. Gingerbread was used for the church, the fencing, the manger, an outhouse and Matt’s Tree Farm next to the church. Pistachios were used on the chimney at the tree farm. “We try to do everything edible,” says McTigue, admitting that he used to be a “purist” and would not allow anything inedible to be part of a gingerbread display. Today, he sees the value of adding some Christmas lights, for instance, to dress up a display. He says that doing a project like this can reveal hidden talents in staff members. “Sometimes you’re not sure what talents your staff might have, and this gives them a chance to show off their talents. “It’s really teamwork, and it’s a lot of fun to do,” he
adds. “We really look forward to working together and seeing how it comes out when we’re done. Everybody has a little different skill and whoever wants to help out, they’re more than welcome to come and play around in our gingerbread room for a little while.” Clockwise beginning at top right: This tree was the special project of one of McTigue’s culinary staff members; she made all the fondant ornaments herself. Colored sugar was heated and then cooled slightly before being poured into the area carved out for the river. It took about three coats to get the look of water. Sheep, cows and donkeys are typical in nativity scenes; this version features a dog. Santa and his reindeer are made of fondant. A treat for kids who visited Lanier Village Estates was the Abominable Snowman in his cave, right at their eye level. This snowman got too close to the campfire. He is toasty…and melting. The chapel’s stained glass is made with five colors of melted sugar. The sugar was made into sheets that were dropped to shatter. Different color pieces were placed into a cookie cutter, which was placed in the oven for about a minute to meld the colors. Three walls of the church were put up before the pews and organ were placed inside; the final wall and roof were then added. Photos by Lorrie Griffith
Dave McTigue is culinary director at Lanier Village Estates in Gainesville, Ga. He and his staff created this gingerbread scene for Christmas 2012 in the complex’s clubhouse lobby.
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