ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Rabiha Sami has been a competitor on Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge and Holiday Wars and also on Magnolia Network’s Gingerbread Land, and when she was asked to be a judge for the 2026 National Gingerbread Competition, she jumped at the chance.

She told 828NewsNow by email on Nov. 11 that an added bonus is getting the opportunity to come to the mountains of Western North Carolina.

“This will be my first visit to Asheville and Western North Carolina, and I’m so excited,” she said. “I’ve admired The Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa and those mountain views in photographs for years, and this time I finally get to see them in person. Add the holiday atmosphere and a whole collection of gingerbread marvels, and it’s pretty much my idea of a perfect trip.”

READ MORE: National Gingerbread Competition entries are in; judging set for Nov. 16

Judging will be on Monday, Nov. 16, in a closed session. The awards ceremony, only open to competitors and their families, will be later that evening. Public viewing of the gingerbread creations will be from Nov. 17-Jan. 3. More information is available at the Grove Park Inn & Spa website.

Sami said she’s seen the gingerbread works of art from past competitions and is anticipating seeing this year’s entries in person.

“What excites me most is getting to see these gingerbread marvels up close. As someone who works with structural cookies and 3D cakes, I know how much planning, love, thought and problem-solving happens behind a beautiful, finished piece,” she said.

During her competitions on Food Network, she said she knows the tiny details can make all the difference.

“I’m looking forward to appreciating those little decisions — the structure, the details, and the story each artist wants to tell,” she said.

Sami said she was a former computer engineer and adjunct professor at Columbia University.

“Apparently, I still enjoy a structural challenge — I just work with royal icing and isomalt now. That’s what I love about gingerbread: You’re asking something potentially edible to behave like lumber, baked hard enough to hold up a roof. Nobody’s eating the house. The ambition is the delicious part,” she said.

Sami is originally from Pakistan. She spent 15 years in New York before moving to the Boston area, she said.

“I’m a cake and cookie artist with a particular love for intricate 3D cookie structures and gravity-defying cakes,” she said.

In addition to her television appearances, she’s also received cookie-decorating awards at CookieCon and SoFlo competitions and served as a judge for the CookieCon Sugar Show.

“Being invited to judge the National Gingerbread House Competition brings all the different parts of my experience together, and I’m looking forward to meeting the gingerbread community and celebrating the imagination and craftsmanship behind the entries,” she said. “The competition hasn’t even started yet, and I’m already hoping they invite me back every year.”

Sami told 828NewsNow that her son has been begging and pleading her to be allowed to enter.

“Sadly for him, having your mother on the judging panel is what they call a conflict of interest. At this rate, the poor kid may never get his shot,” she said.

More of Sami’s work is available to see on her Instagram page.