Just call him the ‘Gingerbread Man.”

Seventeen-year-old Eastside High School junior Zak Ponton has been named one of ten finalists in the National High School Culinary Challenge for his design and creation of an elaborate gingerbread house. He and his teacher, Chef Billie DeNunzio, will be in Miami during the weekend of November 13th and 14th for the final competition. Zak will have to recreate his house in front of judges, complete with gumdrop lights and a marzipan Santa perched on the bubble gum roof.

“I just want to go down there and do my best,” said Zak. “Whatever happens, as long as I know I did my best, that’s all that matters.”

The road to culinary excellence has been a rocky one for Zak. During his freshman year at Eastside High, his grades, attitude and behavior were dismal. The death of his mother from cancer early in the school year contributed to his downward spiral. He was even briefly kicked out of the Institute of Culinary Arts, the school’s highly acclaimed magnet program. After a few days he asked DeNunzio for another chance, and she says she’s very glad she gave it to him.

“He really needed an outlet for his energy, and as it turned out this was the perfect outlet for him,” she said. “He was a troubled student, but now he’s on top of the world.”

Zak’s grades in all his classes are much improved, primarily because he now sees the relevance of what he’s learning.

“Even with the gingerbread house, I have to understand geometry, chemistry, and critical thinking,” he said. “Every class I’m taking in high school I can apply to this program.”

Zak is also very generous with his free time. He frequently volunteers with elementary school students, sharing not only his baking skills, but what he’s learned through his personal experiences.

“I want them to know that hard work pays off in the end,” he said. “I was struggling, but I had people who helped me. I’m thankful for those people, and in return I want to help kids and bring them to where I am.”

DeNunzio says Zak has a special way with the children because in many ways he himself is very childlike.

“He’s got boundless energy and a limitless imagination, and I think children are like that,” said DeNunzio. “When the children he’s working with get excited, he’s right there with them.”

Ultimately Zak wants to be a chef in a high end restaurant, specializing in baking. His selection as a finalist in the national competition and the $4000 scholarship that goes with it put him closer to that goal, and winning the top prize would mean another $16,000 in scholarships. But whatever the outcome of the competition, Zak says the Institute of Culinary Arts has changed his life forever.

“Without this program, I wouldn’t know what I was going to do with my life,” he said. “But now I know what I’m going to do, and I know where I’m going.”