Sat 12/17
Fairview Park resident Jon Thibo builds Cleveland Christmas traditions one gingerbread house at a time.
Owner of Gingerbread Homes LLC, Thibo began constructing handcrafted gingerbread structures as part of his own family holiday tradition. “I come from a large family, with eight brothers and sisters,” Thibo noted. His mother began the tradition of making Christmas gingerbread houses with her children. Thibo and his wife Ellen continued the tradition with their own family.
Over the years, Thibo began entering his gingerbread creations in baking competitions. After retiring from his full-time career, Thibo decided to turn his hobby into a business. “After I retired, I had the time to transition from retirement to something different,” he said. “My motivation is the energy I still have to do things. It’s a feel-good thing that involves my family and we just have fun with it.”
Thibo started baking gingerbread out of the Cleveland Culinary Launch & Kitchen. “That experience helped me to learn how to work in a small space with other people. It also taught me about things like licensing,” he said. “I got to watch what some of the millennials are doing in the culinary industry to be creative out of the box. They are inspiring. “
Gingerbread Homes LLC sells blank canvas undecorated homes, with or without a decorating kit, as well as fully decorated gingerbread homes with royal icing and candy. They come in four sizes, including ornaments, small, medium and large houses. Thibo said he can fill bulk orders for groups. He also creates vegan gingerbread houses, using royal icing made with canned bean liquid. “My push is eating healthy,” he noted. “That’s my deal.”
The gingerbread houses are available at Urban Bulk Foods, Fear’s Confections and Mardi Gras Cake and Candy Supplies in Lakewood, and at Becker’s Donuts in Olmsted Falls. Thibo and his family also participated in the the Cleveland Flea in November, and in the holiday Glow show at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. “This year, I took third place at the Botanical Garden in the professional category with my gingerbread display. Over the past seven years, I have won awards in the first, second and third-place categories,” he said.
Gingerbread Homes LLC is supplying the gingerbread ornaments for “Santa Comes to Mitchell’s Ice Cream” on Sat 12/17. “The kids will get to decorate gingerbread ornaments while they eat ice cream,” Thibo explained. “Decorating gingerbread is a great hands-on activity that’s enjoyable for all ages.” He will also be constructing the holiday gingerbread display for the Mitchell’s location in Ohio City that weekend.
A portion of the proceeds from Gingerbread Homes LLC go towards a scholarship at Rocky River High School given in the name of Thibo’s sister Susan. Susan was a French teacher at the school. She passed away from ovarian cancer in 2007. Thibo and his siblings commemorate her by acknowledging a promising high school senior who plans to pursue a degree in foreign languages. “My family can’t help but be involved in this project,” he said. “They like doing it because of its purpose.” Thibo said they are also involved in charity projects with the Gathering Place and Welcome House.
Visit gingerbreadhomescle.com to learn how to create your own holiday gingerbread tradition.
[Written by by Cynthia Schuster Eakin]
Cleveland, OH 44113