Bama Dining Unveils Gingerbread Replicas Of UA Campus Landmarks

TUSCALOOSA, AL — University of Alabama students are getting some extra holiday cheer as the fall semester winds down, thanks to gingerbread replicas of Denny Chimes, the President’s Mansion and Rhoads Stadium that are now on display to diners on campus.

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The festive creations are a collaboration between Bama Dining and the UA carpentry shop.

The gingerbread houses were unveiled this week, drawing crowds of students and staff eager to see the edible versions of some of the most recognizable landmarks on the UA campus.

Bama Dining said this year’s prominently displays a Denny Chimes replica standing more than six feet high.

The replica of the UA President’s Mansion rises about two feet and was constructed with two 35-pound buckets of buttercream and roughly 20 pounds of candy and cookies.

The Rhoads Stadium confection spans 40 by 60 inches, weighing close to 30 pounds.

Bama Dining Supervisor Jeanine Lott said the work on the holiday spectacles begins long before a single cookie or candy piece is placed.

“We kind of go through what we want them to look like and then we order everything that we need and then we start,” she said. “If we have any nooks and crannies, we try to get to those first, and so we work from the inside out.”

Lott said whipped or chocolate buttercream forms the base layer for most structures.

“I like to crumb coat it,” she pointed out. "That way we have something there first. Then we come back with the candy and the cookies and the icing. I'm an artsy kind of person, so it lets me get that outlet that I need. … I feel kind of good when it's completed and it actually looks great.”

The UA carpentry shop constructs the wooden frames that support each gingerbread building and UA Cabinetmaker Tony Frizzell said the team approaches the job much like any large-scale carpentry project, while also viewing it as an unorthodox challenge.

“We basically pull some pictures online,” he said. “We go over to the building, take pictures ourselves, really try to find the aerial photograph. We usually draw it out on a board, what we call a layout.”

For stadium models, Frizzell said the seating sections come first.

“They want to use M&Ms as the people,” he explained. “So that kind of gives you a basis on how big everything else needs to be. I’ve been building cabinets for 40 years and ain’t never really built a gingerbread house. And when they came to us, it’s pretty cool to get to do that stuff.”

Bama Dining’s Resident District Manager Bruce McVeagh said the annual project has become a cherished campus tradition.

“Our team of dedicated culinarians and pastry chefs each year work hard to replicate these buildings in a whimsical way,” he said. “When you get them and it’s kind of first fitted out as wood and then you see it come to life as gingerbread houses, it’s an amazing transformation.”

McVeagh said the reaction from students gearing up for the holidays makes all of the effort worth it.

“We like to see the look on people’s faces when they come down to the dining hall and see these iconic locations,” he said. “They all smile when they see them and they're amazed, and that really resonates with our staff. We just like to send them off for their holiday season with a little joy, a little fun, something to get them in the spirit.”

The gingerbread displays will remain available for viewing at Bama Dining locations on campus throughout the holiday season.

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