Tracy Burgio and Alexandra Jaffer of Kneads and Wants Bake Shop. Photo: Tracy Schuhmacher
This year the Gannett building in downtown Rochester has been created in gingerbread for the first time, as part of the museum's Sweet Creations display. The Democrat and Chronicle commissioned the Kneads and Wants bakery to commemorate what is likely to be its final winter in its building at 55 Exchange Blvd., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The media group is scheduled to move to a modern new building, currently under construction at East Main Street and South Clinton Avenue, in 2016. Read the full story at democratandchronicle.com.
Meet Tracy Burgio, owner of Kneads and Wants, and Tracy Schuhmacher, food and beverage reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, at a brown bag event from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, in the Curtis Theatre at the George Eastman Museum. Feel free to bring your own lunch or purchase food from the museum's cafe.
Burgio and Schuhmacher will give a brief presentation, including a short video of the making of the 55 Exchange Blvd building in gingerbread and their tips and tricks for working with gingerbread, and then open the floor to questions and answers. Before or after the event, check out the gingerbread creations on display. This is a great way to get inspiration for your own gingerbread projects, or just take in some holiday spirit.
Burgio, a Rochester native, earned her pastry arts degree from the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 2009. She worked with well known pastry chefs in Chicago and Umbria, Italy, before returning to Rochester in 2010, when she was pastry chef at Artesano Bakery and Cafe at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She opened Kneads and Wants at 4464 Lake Ave. in 2014.
Schuhmacher won prizes in several national recipe contests, including the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest and the AirBake Ultra Extreme Cookie Challenge, before joining the Democrat and Chronicle in June. The mother of two college-age sons, she has fond and funny memories of creating gingerbread houses with her sons.
The event, as well as the Sweet Creations display, is included with museum admission: $14 for adults; $12 for seniors (62+); $5 for students (with ID); free for children (12 and under); and free for museum members.