Purdue Dining and Catering mixing construction, cuisine in annual gingerbread competition

'Tis the season for competitive cuisine construction as Purdue Memorial Union soon will display a gallery of gingerbread creations, the product of students and staff from various Purdue Dining & Catering operations engaging in literal team building for the fourth annual gingerbread competition.

The gingerbread houses will be transported to the Union from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 8). Each gingerbread creation, displayed in the lounges adjacent to PMU's Great Hall, will be judged Wednesday (Dec. 9) by a panel of students and administrators and voted on by the public this week on the PMU Facebook page. The judges will award first-, second- and third-place ribbons based on appearance, creativity, detail, difficulty, student/staff participation and adherence to this year's theme, "Around the World."

The primary rules given to participating organizations (all five residential dining courts, the Athletic Dining Room, Retail Dining, and the Central Production Kitchen) are (1) all components of the houses must be made of edible products, with exceptions for the base and any battery-operated devices such as lights (edible materials include candies, nuts, cereal, crackers, pasta, chocolate, ice cream cones, pretzel sticks, gum, cookies, cake, etc.) and (2) that student workers must do a minimum of 50 percent of the design and construction.

The first-place traveling trophy is currently on display at Hillenbrand Dining Court, which also won the people's choice vote in 2014. This year's judges' first-place winner will receive a bowling and pizza party at PMU and a $1,000 prize to be used in the winning dining operation.

Writer: Matt Watson, watso10@purdue.edu