While I was a child, Christmas cakes (or cakes per se) would mean Great Eastern Hotel bakery or Kathleen. Flurys was elite for us living in Barrackpore, a suburban town of Kolkata. That was not the age of cake shop chains, thus for good Christmas cakes one had to queue up at certain shops very limited in count.
Kolkata and its suburbs have gone through a major transformation meanwhile. Today Monginis as a cake shop chain has left Kathleen much behind. In savouries Monginis is matchless in budget category. And it makes decent cakes and pastries too, considering the prices (Though many may not agree here). The pastries from Kathleen never appealed to me, and its quite a few years that I last tasted a Kathleen Christmas cake.
It really sucks to be compelled to work on Christmas day, which stands as a 'cancelled holiday' this year in office due to some late development. But it was made partially good by the slices of cakes served to desk. And it was precisely because the double bonanza of the fruit cake and the plum cake, from Kathleen and Bisk Farm respectively, tasted yummy. Nice to know that Kathleen still bakes good cakes.
The flavour of Kolkata
The city is known for its old alleys. One such is shot by Atanu Pal.
'Christmas+Kathleen' memories are indeed oven-fresh! Your assessment of Flurrys being in the 'elite' league is so very true for most of us; the 'Modhyobittwo's!
ReplyDeleteLoved your brief take on cakes. I am not much fond of the Kathleen cakes that I find on Christmas at some of their outlets in south Kolkata. In terms of quality and pricing, I fear that they have a lot to do to catch up with their competitors. But, years ago, Kathleen's products were a huge hit, and I especially remember visiting their Free School Street outlet on Christmas - for cakes, rum balls, and chicken patties - and having a gala time there.
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