Foodtastic Judge Benny Rivera Dishes On The Secrets Of His Giant Gingerbread House - Exclusive

Disney's newest show, "Foodtastic” has a lot of fans feeling awe-inspired about the magical things that can be done with some grub. The seriously impressive food art competition series is now streaming on Disney+, just as the holidays are bringing so many of us together in the kitchen to cook, bake, and maybe even play with some food. And if there's any season for it, it's definitely Christmastime filled with festively decorated cookies, marshmallow snowmen floating in hot chocolate, and not to mention gingerbread houses made to be brought to life with a little confectionary creativity.

Of course, pastry chef Benny Rivera, who serves as an expert and judge on "Foodtastic" is taking that idea to a whole other level this year. The celebrity cake artist, known for his intricately detailed, larger-than-life designs that he helms at his NYC bakery CityCakes, just finished up one of the most complicated food art projects he's ever taken on, all in the name of some holiday spirit, and he shared all the details with Mashed. In an exclusive interview, Rivera dished on "Foodtastic" and why it should be on your watch list this season, and then shared the inside scoop on the giant decorated gingerbread house that's turned out to be one of his toughest creations.

Despite your very best efforts, it's safe to say that chef Benny Rivera's gingerbread house will put your annual Christmas creation to shame. The cake artist and his team spent two weeks working on the display, which is currently being showcased in the lobby of the Nutcracker Ballet at Lincoln Center in New York City, allowing thousands of tourists and showgoers to feast their eyes on the totally edible work of art during the holiday season. And while that outcome may be all worth it, getting there "was a headache," Rivera admitted in a Mashed interview, adding, "I would say that has been the most crazy and challenging project so far."

Rivera said the "eight-foot-tall by eight-foot-long gingerbread house" is a "massive piece" that's "full of food elements" and it was made with everything you can imagine to bring a whimsical winter landscape to life. "It had popcorn, it had coconut, it had sugar, it had chocolate," and so much more, said Rivera. A video shared to Facebook shows even more of the ingredients that went into the house, not to mention all the equipment (and power tools!) needed to build the giant structure.

It took countless hours to get each and every detail correct, something Rivera said can't be understated. "It's crazy because you think, 'Eh, two weeks,' but not when you work with food elements. The food elements don't work or react the same way that a piece of wood would work. There's a lot of things that can happen." Luckily for Rivera, it seems that nothing terrible did happen, and the gingerbread house is shining in all its sugary glory for people to see today.

See Benny Rivera give feedback to contestants building their own creations on "Foodtastic" – all episodes are now streaming on Disney+.