A Century of Celebration

FOR MANY LOCALS, A DECEMBER TRIP TO THE PEABODY MEMPHIS IS AS ESSENTIAL AS DECORATING THE TREE

- BY REBECCA ANGEL BAER PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBBIE CAPONETTO

It's the morning after Thanksgiving, and Konrad Spitzbart is trying to fit a gingerbread house into an elevator at The Peabody hotel.

It is no ordinary piece of confectionery. This elaborate, supersize creation marks the beginning of the holiday season at the 100-year-old building and is as anticipated by Memphians and out-of-towners as Santa Claus himself.

Executive pastry chef Spitzbart, his team, and the hotel's engineering department carry out the arduous annual task of transporting the massive display from the pastry shop on the second floor down to the lobby. Everything must make it on the elevator, which Spitzbart says they've gotten wrong a couple of times. Generally, it is moved in about 10 segments. "It might fit upstairs and then not seem to be fitting down here all the way. But then we put a lot of icing on it to cover it up," he says with a laugh. As the crew works to join pieces together and add the finishing touches to their creation, spectators of all ages gather to watch them work. In the past, this talented bunch has produced classic Christmas villages complete with rotating platforms, a giant Santa Claus, and even The Grinch.

The final assembly on that Friday morning is the culmination of approximately 250 hours of work. All of that begins with planning in the hot, hazy days of August. According to Spitzbart, he never stops thinking about the holidays. At The Peabody, that's not unusual.

Memphis Merriment

Christmas at "The South's Grand Hotel" is a team effort in every respect. Chef Keith Clinton of in-house restaurant Chez Philippe calls it "the Rockefeller Center of Memphis," and that's a sentiment shared by multiple generations in the Bluff City.