"This year, Lovitch is making about 1,500 gingerbread houses, with 500 each going to displays in New York City, Salt Lake City and Kansas City. The village includes precious details, like jelly bean roof tiles, candy cane decor and clever signs made out of icing. It takes 1,000 pounds of gingerbread and 8,000 pounds of icing to create 1,500 gingerbread houses, along with the help of several hardworking dehumidifiers to keep everything dry," the Time Out reports. 

"The process takes all year with the season ramping up to 100-hour weeks in the fall when the air constantly smells sweet and gingerbread houses cram into every nook and cranny of his basement in Queens.

"For Lovitch, this year-round project is truly a labor of love. He uses the knowledge and work ethic he developed as a professional chef working in some of America’s most coveted hotel kitchens to push through the challenges of creating such intricately detailed, time-consuming work. After each season, he gives away the gingerbread houses for people to display at their own homes. While the houses are made mostly of food items, they are not edible, he cautions, especially considering many of the materials are expired."

"After a pandemic-related two-year hiatus that saw it relocated outside the Big Apple, a massive gingerbread village is coming back to Essex Market in the Lower East Side. The gingerbread village holds the title for being the world's largest, and it is ready to welcome visitors to admire its grandeur, the Thrillist reports.

"The village, dubbed GingerBread Lane, is the prized work of chef and creator Jon Lovitch, who designs, bakes, and constructs it every year. According to TimeOut New York, the NYC village flaunts 500 gingerbread houses, which are meticulously decorated with jelly bean roof tiles, candy canes, and icing structures.

"Jon works hard during the entire year, drafting, planning, designing, baking, building, and decorating to unveil his masterpiece annually in cities around the Midwest, Florida, and the Eastern seaboard. A full year of planning and work is required to put on these displays each year, and adults and children alike flock to see his displays every holiday season," the Loving New York reports.

"For Jon, there’s nothing better than seeing their eyes filled with wonder, awe, and even a bit of sweet tooth. And the last part comes for a good reason! GingerBread Lane has evolved into a Guinness Record Book holder for the last four years, as it holds the record for being the “largest entirely edible gingerbread village.”

"In fact, this is what makes GingerBread Village so special! Each and every gingerbread house on display is made from ENTIRELY edible components. Hence, these homes don’t contain stands, fake snow, or even cardboard backing! This year, Jon has created 1,500 gingerbread houses that will be used to make his amazing holiday display. He initially set the record in 2013 with 1,251 houses and has upped his ante each year to prevent being unseated."

"Jon Lovitch, owner, artist, and creator of GingerBread Lane drafts, designs, bakes, plans, builds, and decorates for an entire year, to unveil his creations annually in cities all around the Eastern seaboard, the Midwest, and Florida. 365 days of devotion, care, and love go into these displays each and every year," the official website says.

"GingerBread Lane has been all over the United States, from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., from Boston to Baltimore, Hartford, New York City, Philadelphia, and Southern Virginia, not to mention Orlando, Florida, and of course, Kansas City, Missouri. Rockefeller Center, the Smithsonian, and NYSCI, just to name a few, have all hosted the confectionary wonders to delight audiences from early November to the middle of January.

"GingerBread Lane has pleased audiences on the Today Show and Good Morning America, ABC and CBS News, as well as many printed articles in the New York Times, Food and Wine, Delish, Conde Naste Traveler, Martha Stewart Living, and Smithsonian Magazine.

"Each year, a new design for the layout and for the some of the houses changes, so each display and each season brings new delights, as well as returning favorites like the "SnowMan Apple Cider Company," "Santa's Sleigh Repair Company," the "EveryDay's Thanksgiving Cafe," the "Hot Chocolate Brewery," and the "Pumpkin Spice Latte Coffee Shop." He even throws in heartfelt nods to important people in his life, like "Puddles Brand Ice Cream Sprinkles" for his devoted wife, as well as a tribute to his beloved grandfather with "Cecil's Pie Bakery."