K. Ali Bakery: The century old heritage bakery of Mominpur

We often hear our elders talk about their favourite cakes and their unique tastes. More so in the festive season. Most bakeries that are mentioned by the elders do not exist anymore owing to different challenges. So many new cafes and bakeries have sprung up in such a short time with home bakers ruling the roost. Thus, many old ones are lost in the eons of time. Yet very few bakeries have stood firm in the face of such tumultuous times.

One of the bakeries that still maintain their old world charm is the K. Ali Bakery of Mominpur in Kolkata. It is also called German Bakery as it makes German bread, for which it is famous. It is 110 years old. Md. Razzak Snapui, a baker and the supervisor of the shop spoke to GB. He said: “I am working in this shop since 1983. Before that my father used to look after everything and now, I’m grooming my son so that he can take up the maintenance of the shop after me. The specialty of this bakery are the sumptuous biscuits and breads, rather than Christmas cakes with which most people identify bakers. We take orders as well for large quantities and for those who want our breads daily. We also make cakes but it is exclusively in December for Christmas and that too on prior orders.”

The shop is a small one, non-descript, right beside Mominpur Choti Bazar, an ancient locality that has witnessed many political upheaval even before independence. Yet the bakery that has stood the test of time, in that hour was packed with people and nobody was moving an inch. The shopkeeper had a trying time serving the long queue of customers who were waiting for a long time for their turn to come. One gets to see such scenes infront of the famous Nahoums Bakery of New Market before Christmas. But seeing it infront of a small bakery tucked in South Kolkata was a surprise. No wonder the shop had a significance that could not be ignored even after a century. The cafes and bakeries that are gaining significance recently, spend a lot on the aesthetics ignoring their purpose, and that purpose is providing customers with good quality food. 

Hence, in this age of aesthetics, this quaint, dingy shop still retains its popularity owing to its loyal customers who will vouch by the exclusive quality and taste of the products they get at K Ali Bakery. None leaves dissatisfied. They also bake fruit cakes which are sold at 160 per pound and are very delicious. The fruit cakes have huge takers during winter. By 3-4 pm most of the fruit cakes fly off the racks and if you arrive late you have to leave empty handed. What is more enticing is that the shop bakes the cakes in front of the customers as per their directions and needed ingredients. That satisfies the customers further as to some extent they can also participate in the baking process and know exactly what is going inside their custom made cakes. 

Rony Gomes, was standing beside the baker and helping him with the materials. On asking him about the crowd he said: “It is very crowded and packed all throughout this season, which is why the bakery works round the clock. We visit every year. We also provide them with ingredients and they bake the cake in front of us as per our age old traditional recipe that my family follows. They are really good. They start working from 5am in the morning till 2 or 3 pm at night.” Customers usually take 5-8 kgs of cake. If one needs a customized cake, it has to be 3 kgs minimum. The cakes are not just delicious, they have a lot of fruits and nuts in them making them rich in texture and taste.

People from different parts of Kolkata come to buy cake from this shop. They make unique cakes which attract more people. Once a customer buys from this shop, they mostly visit again. For all the cake lovers this place would be ideal this winter and no doubt it is a prized heritage bakery of Kolkata.