An award-winning gingerbread house created in the Royal City is now appearing on Gingerbread Lane at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver.
Kiwanis Care Centre recently took the top spot in the corporate category of a gingerbread contest held at the Hyatt, which raises money for the Make a Wish Foundation. The entries are on display at the hotel’s Gingerbread Lane display until Dec. 29.
Jennifer Quan is the support services manager at Kiwanis Care Centre, where she oversees the kitchen, housekeeping and laundry services. A Red Seal chef who formerly worked in hotel and airline kitchens, Quan comes up with a gingerbread concept and assembles the creations, but sometimes get a helping hand from kitchen staff in baking gingerbread that she uses to create a gingerbread creation for residents at the centre to enjoy.
“This was my first entry. I was kind of shocked to win first prize,” she said. “I do this for Kiwanis every year for the residents. People say, ‘You can go enter it. It’s for the Make a Wish Foundation.’ Basically people go down and take a look. They vote for the People’s Choice.”
Quan’s winning entry for the Hyatt contest featured a village comprised of different houses, but she also created a gingerbread cruise ship for Kiwanis Care Centre. She estimates she spent close to 100 hours in November working on the creations.
“I named it KCC for Kiwanis Care Centre,” said Quan, who has worked at the local seniors’ residence for 11 years. “Every year I just come up with a different theme. It’s for the residents to look at. This is the tenth time.”
