Mark Ramsdell has been a pastry chef and instructor for more than 30 years.  He served as assistant pastry chef at The White House during the Clinton and Bush terms.  Ramsdell and his instructor, Roland Mesnier, produced gingerbread showpieces at the White House.  After they left the White House, they continued to design and produce gingerbread showpieces such as models of Mount Vernon and the White House for events at the French Embassy and other nonprofits.  Some of the showpieces were auctioned off for hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Mark showed slides of the production of the showpieces and passed around a book he produced with Roland Mesnier.