The graham cracker village, with its ice cream cone trees, gum drop lanterns, chocolate graham cracker highways, fruit leather wreaths, candy cane doorways and shredded wheat rooftops looks like something from the kitchen of Willie Wonka's chocolate factory.

But this candy land's creator -- Barbara Lang, a lecturer in food and beverage management at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration -- has an educational mission. The co-owner of two Ithaca-area Mexican eateries, Lang has been cooking, lecturing and writing on food and wine for almost two decades. She's a much sought-after speaker, whose "Popcork Experience" seminar on wine and food pairings using flavored popcorn has been offered on both coasts, at Cornell alumni club gatherings and festivals and at corporate retreats. Her cooking programs for children and their parents have been featured at an area museum and school. And her Cornell classes -- Culinary Theory and Practice and the Specialty Food and Beverage Operations: Guest Chefs, which brings internationally known chefs to campus -- are extremely popular. This month, Lang makes her first foray into national television. The TV Food Network, a New York City--based cable network with 18 million subscribers throughout the country, will present Lang's original program "Gingerbread Village." In the hour-long segment, Lang takes viewers through the planning and creative process of constructing a village out of gingerbread and graham crackers with the help of her two daughters, ages 11 and 9, all the while imparting wisdom about ingredients and kitchen safety.

Lang is sort of a human Cliffs Notes for those who break out in a cold sweat reading those "easy-to-do" holiday treats recipes that clutter women's magazines this time of year. She takes an uncomplicated and often comedic approach to constructing the graham cracker village, expressing genuine enthusiasm for her young chefs after they create a Tootsie Roll person or an ice cream cone fir tree. And she makes creating stained glass windows out of melted, crushed Lifesavers look as easy and non-threatening as buttering bread.

The show, written by Lang, is a definite departure from the glut of cooking shows on television, because her program addresses both children and parents. "It's rare today to find a cooking program that shows children and their parents in the kitchen together," she said. "Being in the kitchen with your kids can be fun and educational."

Lang's kitchen becomes a classroom as she relates cooking and cooking ingredients to science, language, social studies and other school subjects. In one classroom presentation, Lang uses the common ingredient salt to discuss language and science. She teaches children how to say the word salt in various languages and then illustrates the different salt concentrations in the Atlantic Ocean and Dead Sea.

Lang also offers nuggets of knowledge for grown-ups. For instance, she tells them adding salt to water lowers its boiling point and when salt is added to food, say shredded zucchini, it draws out moisture.

"Cooking is an easy way to get through to kids," she said, "and it really makes learning fun, especially when you get to taste your assignment."

Eating leftovers, especially while making gingerbread and graham cracker houses, can be especially popular with the younger set. Lang recommends downing any leftovers with a tall glass of milk.

Oh, yes -- children are told working in the kitchen also comes with some firm rules. "First thing you do, before you wash your hands, is to tell a parent that you are going into the kitchen," Lang says. Getting all the ingredients out on the counter before baking, and cleaning as you go, are also on her list of kitchen commandments.

Lang, who graduated from Cornell's Hotel School in 1978 and joined its faculty 10 years later, submitted a proposal and script to the Food Network early this year; then she had a screen test in New York this summer, which led to a November production date.

"The Gingerbread Village" is one of several culinary adventures that Lang has created for children as part of her "Rolling Stove" series, in which she uses cooking to discuss culture, science and the arts. Other programs, which have been sponsored by Wegmans, a grocery store chain out of Rochester, N.Y., include "Halloween Freaky Feasts" and "Strawberry Shortcake: A Tale of Bubbles and Berries." Lang has presented these programs at the Belle Sherman Elementary School in Ithaca. Later this month, she will bring her "Gingerbread Village" program to the Strong Museum in Rochester on Dec. 14 for three shows.

"Children are the hospitality industry's consumers of tomorrow," Lang said. "By introducing them now to different foods and cuisines, they may become more knowledgeable consumers in the future."

"Gingerbread Village" will air Saturday, Dec. 7, at 2 p.m.; Tuesday, Dec. 10, at noon; Saturday, Dec. 14, at 10:30 a.m.; and Tuesday, Dec. 17, at 9 p.m. The TV Food Network is available in Syracuse on Adelphia and Time Warner cable systems; in Binghamton, Whitney Point and Owego on Time Warner; and in Oswego, Oneida and Chittenango on Time Warner. It is not available in Ithaca.