Gingerbread house a family tradition for Wheaton chef
Some people who created gingerbread houses for the holidays probably bought easy-to-assemble kits and pulled the whole thing together in a couple hours.
There's nothing wrong with that, but it's not Alan Pirhofer's style.
The executive chef at Arrowhead Restaurant & Bar in Wheaton spent 16 hours measuring, stirring and baking ingredients for his elaborate creation and another 12 hours decorating the finished product with help from his wife and daughter.
"It's kind of become a family tradition," said Pirhofer, who has been building gingerbread houses for four years to delight families and children who dine at the Wheaton Park District-owned restaurant at 26W151 Butterfield Road. The house will remain on display through Jan. 11.
This year's house features stained-glass windows made of melted Jolly Ranchers candy and lit by Christmas lights from within, A Peeps snowman greets visitors at the door. A pond outside the house is made of melted blue Jolly Ranchers and carries a thin ice warning.
"It's kind of like a suburban house you would see in Wheaton, only it's made of candy and gingerbread," Pirhofer said.
The 18-inch high, two-story house measures 20 inches long and 16 inches wide.
Constructing a house of gingerbread was a learning experience, Pirhofer says. The first year he had porches collapsing because the gingerbread was too soft. He now uses a special gingerbread recipe which, while edible, is more suitable to house construction.
"It's as hard as rock," he said.
Working with his 13-year-old daughter, Nola, Pirhofer does the math first because the 35 components of the house have to be baked separately and then fitted together.
"It's challenging to get everything to fit," he said. "It's like building a real house."
Once the house is assembled, Pirhofer, his daughter, and wife, Mary Beth, take a Sunday to do a 12-hour decorating marathon using 35 different kinds of candy.
"The candy stores, they love me when I come in," Pirhofer said.
Frosted Mini-Wheats provide the roofing. The porch deck is made of Rainbow Nerds. Chocolate-covered pretzels serve as the railing. Necco wafers garnish the walls.
A special touch is always the pond with the sign "Thin Ice." As a joke, Pirhofer has put one of the restaurant's employees on the thin ice in the past, but this year he went outside the restaurant to depict someone who really is skating on thin ice - Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
"Jay Cutler, because everybody is not happy with him this past season," Pirhofer said.