pleasure in simple things

Yes, I am a Food Network junkie.  And, since I love to bake, I particularly enjoy any show that includes baking!  Currently, that show is The Holiday Baking Championship on Monday nights!

I was recently lucky enough to meet a current contestant, 35 year old Lerome Campbell, one of 3 bakers at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort in Naples, Florida.

At this time of year, Lerome is something of a local celebrity because of his part in creating a gingerbread house in the lobby of the Ritz hotel.  Each year, pastry chefs at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort plan, bake and construct a life-sized gingerbread house.  This year’s creation used 60,000 pieces of candy, 1,200 gingerbread bricks, 464 eggs, and is held together with 400 lbs. of icing!  No small feat, the house required 1,000 hours to put together!

The first challenge on last Monday’s episode of The Holiday Baking Championship was for contestants to prepare a classic chocolate holiday dessert with the addition of two common pantry items.  Lerome chose to create a chocolate trifle that incorporated potato chips and red wine…interesting combo!  Coating the potato chips in melted chocolate and then sprinkling them with peppermint insured a crunchy, flavorful chip.  He simmered the red wine into a thick reduction and layered it into the dessert.

Even with the twist of having to incorporate the secret ingredient of fruit cake into his second dessert creation of a pecan financier on the episode, Lerome was able to avoid elimination and is advancing to the finale.

I’m rooting for my new friend Lerome next Monday (December 17^th) when he competes on the finale episode!

I should mention, since the gingerbread house at the hotel is not available for tasting (it is lacquered after constructed – so it is totally inedible), I made sure to taste every one of Lerome’s creations while visiting his hotel!  I probably tasted at least a dozen desserts and they were all beautiful and delicious!  One of my favorites was the yuzu crème brulee.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Friday field trip and a glimpse of the 2018 gingerbread house created by Lerome Campbell and the bakers at the Ritz-Carlton beach resort in Naples, Florida.

Thanks for stopping by!  Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie