Reunite with flavors of old Calcutta at New Market’s Imperial Bakery

Being a city born from a colonial settlement, Kolkata’s evolving food and beverage scene has satisfied generations of eclectic palates. Among the old-world food shops, Imperial Bakers and Confectioners stands tall as one of the most loved patisseries of the city for over a century.

Imperial has been feeding Kolkatans for over a century.

Walking through the maze of the 151-year-old New Market, you will find the Imperial Bakery near the northern gate, situated in a lane that is called cake patti or cake lane. It is flanked by big and small shops selling a variety of cakes, pastries, and other savory items.

The bakery was born along with the New Market itself in 1874 and has seen a steady stream of regulars and newcomers ever since. Yacoob Sahb, a friend of Sir Stuart Hogg, got the current space to set up business in very early days. Over generations, his family has run the bakery.

At present, Yacoob Sahb’s great great grandson, Sheikh Aman Rahman deftly oversees business, doing accounts, recommending savories to sample, and chatting with customers. What started as a tiny establishment grew rapidly during the times of Sheikh Fazlur Rahman (Yacoob Sahb’s son), and subsequently his son, Sheikh Parvez Rahman.

In the mid-twentieth century, Kolkata (then Calcutta) enjoyed the status of a star city of the erstwhile British empire. The stretch of Chowringhee Road from the Statesman House to the present-day Exide crossing was regarded as the high street of India, running past plush hotels, fancy stores, corporate headquarters, cultural institutions, cinemas, and upscale restaurants. The bakery quietly thrived nearby, seeing a steady growth of customers, mostly whites and Indian elites, reflecting the clientele of New Market in those days.

Mr. Aman Rahman

Mr. Rahman notes that customers keep coming back to the bakery for the quality of the products and the prices they pay. Chicken patties, fruit cakes, and biscuits are made from time-tested recipes of the Rahman household. Over the years, the bakery introduced several items, like the lemon tart (“my recipe,” declares Mr. Rahman, with a modest smile), coconut macaroons, fish patties, cheese patties, and many more.

Keeping in mind the changing preferences of younger patrons, the bakery sells café products like imported cookies, colas, and chocolates. Wholesale suppliers co-depend on the bakery as much now as it did during old times. While the former supplies raw materials, the latter has historically helped several wholesalers set up their businesses.

Anisur Rahman Molla - everyone's dear Babloo Chacha.

Carrying that professional ethic forward, Mr. Rahman too assists café owners in setting up their businesses in a synergistic effort that has not only garnered lasting collaborative relationships but also broadened the range of offerings available to customers. Though not all younger customers develop a taste for the bakery’s fruit cakes, the ones that do find themselves outgrowing the mass-produced versions sold at chain outlets, observes Mr. Rahman.

At Imperial, it is impossible to move on from the oven of hot savory patties.

Mr. Rahman recalls that since its start, the primary focus of the owners has been on ways to expand the business without the usual props of advertising or opening franchise outlets. It was only possible to do so with word of mouth – new customers found it, loved it, and told others. Their strategy worked well enough to expand the client base from regular buyers to large commercial orders. From cricket matches at Eden Gardens to corporate gatherings, hampers from the Imperial Bakery often arrive as delicious and dependable hunger saviors.

The secret to the bakery’s continued popularity is the way they make their products. For example, they use traditional baking methods, such as a mud oven called bhatti, to give their hand-made biscuits and fruit cakes a unique earthy flavor. Their kaarkhana has huge ovens, bringing to life the delicacies enjoyed by so many Kolkatans.

Recalling old times, Mr. Rahman says that the shop was smaller, with just a cash counter and a couple of stools. The remaining space was occupied by counters with jars of cakes and trays of freshly baked biscuits. The patisserie counter was outside the shop, where customers could sit and eat, often mingling with each other.

Sheikh Majed Ali is an endearing presence and the first person I look for when I visit. He indulgently recommends and serves up treats.

During my visit, I casually asked a customer how long she has been visiting the bakery. “For as long as I can remember,” she said with a smile. While growing up, Mr. Rahman made acquaintance with several customers who return every now and then. They often sit and recollect incidents that happened many years ago, from a time when Mr. Rahman was too young to remember. Such is the camaraderie among people who are bound by a shared fondness for Imperial’s delicacies.

One childhood memory that Mr. Rahman fondly recalls is how his father would jokingly warn him to stay away from the shop during the Christmas rush – or he might get trampled by the eager, cake-hungry crowd. Business booms during Christmas, but it is also a time when the bakery’s old and new patrons return to relive their cake memories from childhood or embark on a new cake journey.

Colorful Easter eggs

Tastes evolve and trends come and go – but Imperial lives as a quiet constant as the familial trust and comfort kneaded into the loaves on its welcoming counters. It reaffirms the faith that the city remains united through time in core values of love for food and sharing it with others. Imperial asks whoever comes back: eat Imperial, be Imperial, share Imperial.

Acknowledgement: I want to thank Aman Rahman for his time and timeless stories and Aditya Ghosh for helping me serve this piece warm.