This year’s entries showed an incredible amount of creativity. Every tiny detail represents hours of work.
As a baker, Starlyn Lerret is a darn good builder.
Combining her skills as an architect and artisan, the Milwaukee Area Technical College Baking and Pastry Arts student lovingly and painstakingly constructed a sprawling gingerbread barn that finished second in the college’s annual Parade of Gingerbread Houses competition.
Her entry, which took 15 hours to complete, was a large barn with a sloping roof that housed several gingerbread horses and animals.
“I always liked the look of barns,” said Lerret, a graduate of Milwaukee High School of the Arts. “I was able to make it with four major pieces, so it’s structurally sound.”
Lerret’s house was one of 12 built by MATC Baking and Pastry Arts and Culinary Arts students last month and displayed at the Milwaukee Public Market for the past several weeks.
On Wednesday, December 10, members of the Wisconsin Bakers Association judged the houses and awarded cash prizes to five students.
The 2025 winners were:
People’s Choice Award: Kaydence Stone
First Place: Jasmin Estrada
Second Place: Starlyn Lerret
Third Place: Madison Beattie
Honorable Mentions: Bertha Hernandez and Shaylynn Ferguson.
The students made the houses at the Downtown Milwaukee Campus last month and displayed them there on November 24. The creations then were moved to the Public Market on December 3 and will be on display until December 14.
“This year’s entries showed an incredible amount of creativity,” said Holly Baumann, a Baking and Pastry Arts instructor. “Every tiny detail represents hours of work. They had to think like architects, artists and chefs all at the same time, and work with a deadline. What these students accomplished was not easy.”
It was even harder for Shaylynn Ferguson, who won one of the honorable mention awards. Her gingerbread house, which was based on her grandparents’ home, was accidentally dropped a day after being moved to the Public Market and destroyed.
Undeterred, she built a new one in three days, Baumann said. “Moving the houses is always the most nerve-racking part,” she said.
Estrada, the first place winner, constructed a highly polished, two-story ski chalet that included see-through windows made of spun sugar. The house was built with tiny, individually made gingerbread bricks, Baumann said.
“The attention to detail is astounding,” she said.
Lerret, who works in the bakery department of the Sendik’s Food Market in Whitefish Bay, grew up in a family that loved making food. “I was told that my great-grandfather was a baker,” she said. “So maybe it runs in the family. I like finding ways to be creative, and I love sharing what I do with others.”
Lerret said she expects to graduate in the fall of 2026 and hopes to make desserts for a restaurant or hotel.
While the houses were on display at the Public Market, the public could bid on them via auction. Proceeds from each house will go toward scholarships for students in baking programs through the MATC Foundation Inc., the college’s philanthropic partner in supporting student success.
On Monday, December 8, Baumann led a workshop at the Public Market, helping about 30 participants construct their own gingerbread houses.
“The demonstration was a great time,” Baumann said. “I was really pleased with how the community came out and supported us.”
The gingerbread house competition started in 1995. In 2011, the college partnered with Milwaukee Public Market to display the entries.
“This competition not only helps these students hone their skills, it gives them the confidence they will need as they grow into culinary professionals,” Baumann said.
Learn about MATC’s Baking and Pastry Arts program
About MATC: Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities.