Ever imagined stepping into the gingerbread house in the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel or considered what it might look like in real life? Well this Christmas you can celebrate the festive season in style by dining in a life-size magical Gingerbread House created by pastry chef Magdalena Abakumiec and her elves at Titanic Hotel Belfast.

A first for Belfast and inspired by the history and heritage of German born Gustav Wolff, one half of the shipbuilding founders of Harland & Wolff, the Gingerbread House took four days to lovingly cook by hand. Drawn by the scent which leads hotel guests from the world famous Titanic Drawing Rooms through to the Wolff Grill, where the Gingerbread House stands 10ft tall, it is made from 1,000 gingerbread bricks. 10kgs of sweets and candy canes decorate the walls and 600 individual fibre optic lights illuminate the handmade star effect ceiling. 104 individual panes of glass make up the 13 windows which are held together by 20 sheets of timber.

Adrian McNally, General Manager, Titanic Hotel Belfast, said:

“This unique dining experience in the intricate structure of our life-size Gingerbread House showcases the talent and creativity that we at Titanic Hotel Belfast pride ourselves in. Since the fairy tale spectacle was completed we have been inundated with visitors keen to admire this wonderful creation which, to my knowledge, is the only Gingerbread House of its kind in a hotel in Ireland this Christmas. We are in awe of the elves in the Wolff Grill who painstakingly built it to such exacting detail and would encourage anyone visiting Belfast to come and see it for themselves.”

The enclosed dining space in the Wolff Grill seats up to six guests and can be hired for private dining until Christmas at an additional £50. The Wolff Grill Christmas themed menu includes festive favourites including local Turkey and Ham or mouth-watering Braised Daube of Beef. Dessert choices include traditional Christmas Pudding, Chocolate Tart and sumptuous Black Forest Gateau. And to really get you in the spirit, a bespoke Gingerbread Cocktail has been carefully created by the Titanic Hotel Belfast resident mixologist. For further information and to book, please email dining@titanichotelbelfast.com.

Laura Caldwell

Author: Laura Caldwell

Hi, I'm Laura. I'm 30 years old and have a degree in Journalism with Photo-Imaging at the University of Ulster. I have an undying love for Belfast and all that it has to offer, an undying love for sleeping, Tegan and Sara, trashy tv shows, foreign snack-foods and being irresponsible with money. I also quite like origami, reading, jazz, hip-hop, dubstep, anything acoustic and Food Network TV. I've written for The Big List, Culture NI, Chatterbox and The Echo, as well as writing for BBC Across the Line.