GingerBread Lane, a 1.5 tonne candy village on display at the New York Hall of Science, boasts the 2014 Guinness World Record for the largest gingerbread exhibit.
The completely edible structure took chef Jon Lovitch a full year to create, which he did from his home. "There's over 91 varieties of candy back there. 13-hundred candy canes, 25-hundred pounds (1134 kilograms) of icing, 400 pounds (181 kilograms) of gingerbread dough and 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of candy," Lovitch said on Thursday.
The sophisticated candy village contains 152 gingerbread buildings, which includes a fire station and a town hall.
There's even an underground subway station. The intricate front row of shops coined 'Candy Cane Place' are named after Lovitch's own friends and family.
"Jackie's Sweet Shoppe for my beloved wife, Cecil's Pies for my grandfather, Poole and Van Dyke's Mercantile for our two best friends, all those types of things end up going in Candy Cane Place," he said. The edible ice skating rink was modelled on one he worked at when he was younger. Although Lovitch didn't specify the exact cost of the 300-square-foot (27.8-square-metres) village, he admitted it is well into the thousands of dollars.
He personally finances it as a hobby.
Lovitch said he plans to top his own Guinness World Record next year, but he won't divulge the details. "I actually have people out there that are gunning for my record already and I'm not going to tip my hand," he said.