The holiday tradition of building a gingerbread house is alive and well in Port Coquitlam with three local businesses vying to be the best in a contest to benefit Tri-City Transitions.
Local catering business Grass Roots Meal Planning and Prep came up with the idea as a way of bringing the community together and helping a local cause.
"We wanted to keep the charity local," explained Alaia Fayad, the Grass Roots chef who came up with the idea to raise funds to purchase hampers for women using the Tri-City Transitions shelter.'She and a friend, Madison Stegen, as well as Grass Roots co-owner Laura Woods-Cronsilver have been baking up a storm to get their house ready for the competition and silent auction.
The other participating business are the Gillnetter Pub and Europe Bakery and Deli, both longtime PoCo businesses, and the houses will be on display at the Save-On-Foods on Ottawa Street, near Costco.
People can view the houses and bid on them starting tomorrow (Thursday) and through to the end of the day Sunday, Dec. 18
It's not easy to build a large gingerbread house from scratch. "We were working on it until 2 a.m.," said Fayad, describing the challenges of building a train and train tracks out of baked gingerbread, icing, marshmallows and candy.
But the bakers hope their efforts, and those of the bakers at Europe Bakery and the Gillnetter Pub, will help make the holiday special for Tri-City Transitions clients and the rest of the community.
