For many Kolkatans, a visit to Nahoum and Sons — the Jewish confectionery in the heart of New Market — on the brink of Christmas is an annual tradition. In the week before Christmas, the shop sees a stream of people, often coming from far away, queueing up outside its doors for hours for their festive fare. The queue often stretches all the way to the flower shops at the tail-end of the market.
Nahoum’s makes three varieties of traditional Christmas cake — rich fruit cake, special rich fruit cake and light plum cake — which have garnered a huge following in Kolkata over the last century.
“We’ve been selling our Christmas cake in New Market for more than 100 years and customers from in and around the city visit during the festive season to purchase our Christmas goodies. Every time I take a peek outside, there are about 100 people in the queue!” says Jagdesh Chandra Haldar, manager of Nahoum and Sons.
Nahoum’s makes three varieties of traditional Christmas cake — rich fruit cake, special rich fruit cake and light plum cake @iamclintfernz/Instagram
“There is an old-world charm and nostalgia about Nahoum’s desserts, which I love. I stood in line to buy vanilla fudge and plum cake,” says Shouryadeep Mukherjee, a 23-year-old from Howrah
Managing customers has been tough with Covid-19 restrictions, says Haldar, but the team has stepped up to the challenge. “We’re open past 9pm nowadays, well past our usual timings, but we’re happy to accommodate and cater to everyone, especially in these trying times,” he adds.