Photos: Dordogne home recreated as a gingerbread house

A Connexion reader has recreated her newly bought home in Dordogne as a detailed gingerbread house, complete with architectural features taken from the real property.

Wendy Sherwood, 52, a pastry chef and chocolatier, spent 100 hours making the edible model while still living in the United States, as she and her husband waited for their French house purchase to be finalised and for visa paperwork to be approved.

The project was completed during the three-month period between signing the compromis de vente and the final sale, using photographs taken during a summer visit to the property in Sainte-Alvère.

“It was a way of channelling nervous energy during a time of uncertainty and anticipation,” Ms Sherwood said, adding that the process helped her feel connected to the move while she waited.

The gingerbread house was built using traditional techniques and a wide range of edible materials, including gingerbread, pastillage, modelling chocolate, royal icing, poured and pulled sugar, crushed biscuits, shortbread, marshmallow, nuts, pretzels, shredded filo dough and rice crispy treats.

 Decorative elements included white and dark chocolate penguins and an 'almond rocher' Christmas tree, with battery-powered fairy lights illuminating both the interior and exterior.

The finished display was presented at the Norway House Gingerbread Wonderland festival in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Ms Sherwood’s participation was sponsored by a local business, meaning the piece was displayed but not entered into the competition.

Originally trained at Le Cordon Bleu Paris in the early 2000s, Ms Sherwood went on to work for Meilleur Ouvrier de France chocolatier Patrick Roger before returning to the US, where she ran her own chocolate shop, La Forêt Chocolate and Confections, for 12 years.

Now settled in Dordogne, she is in the process of setting up a French micro-enterprise, La Forêt in France, offering pastry and chocolate classes using regional products for both locals and visitors.

She is also considering entering a future gingerbread creation into the National Gingerbread Competition in Asheville, North Carolina, widely regarded as one of the most prestigious events in the field.

For more information about her classes, see laforetinfrance.com.