Executive Chef Kaustav Chatterjee and Executive Sous Chef Ravindra Chavhan teamed up to create a 13-foot-tall, 16-foot-wide gingerbread house for the holidays — a tradition in its third year at The Club at The Strand in North Naples. The chefs change the design each year. This year’s theme is Santa’s Workshop. Chatterjee said the project took two weeks to complete, with the only challenge being building the base and carrying it downstairs to the lobby. The construction included 110 pounds of flour, 6 gallons of molasses and 200 pounds of sugar. The team also used 150 pounds of vegetable oil, 60 whole eggs and enough royal icing — 80 pounds of powdered sugar and 10 pounds of egg whites — to make the house stand tall and proud.
Visitor spending at hotels, restaurants and shops in Collier County increased 10.5% over last calendar year, bringing in $2.38 billion.
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