Spearheaded by Chef Lorena Ortega and more than 30 helpers from 20 different departments, the annual Gingerbread Village at Turning Stone Resort Casino in central New York brings holiday cheer to visitors while showcasing the talents of Turning Stone’s accomplished pastry chefs with a mix of mediums including chocolate, fondant, pastillage, and shortbread besides its namesake cookie, gingerbread.
The theme of this year’s Gingerbread Village is “Traditional Holiday” – featuring festive colors of green, red, gold and silver – and it has eight different buildings, including a hotel, barn, bakery and a train station with an actual moving train.
The 2021 Gingerbread Village also features:
- 1,500 pounds of frosting
- 132 pounds of fondant
- 480 white chocolate Kit Kats
- More than 45 pounds of Shredded Wheat Cereal
- 25 pounds of chocolate rock nuggets
- 6,500 gingerbread pieces
- 2,500 Hershey Kisses
While enjoying the gingerbread display, guests can also take in the holiday atmosphere and light displays across the rest of the resort property.
Chef Lorena Orteta came to Turning Stone from Las Vegas, where she most recently served as assistant pastry chef for banquets at MGM Grand. She also worked at Wynn and Encore resorts, where she headed up the ice cream program and made more than 65 different flavors from scratch.
