Nahoum returns to Jewish roots, non-kosher chicken off menu
Times of India | 28 July 2024
Kolkata: Nahoum & Sons, the cake-and-savoury shop that has been operating out of New Market for the last 122 years and is a part of Kolkata's foodscape has taken chicken items off its menu. The decision, employees say, is a direct fallout of the shop going back to its Jewish roots — there is no butcher available to cut chicken the kosher way. The owners, who now stay in Israel, have also decided not to keep the shop open on Saturdays, again in keeping with Jewish traditions.
Kosher refers to food that meets Jewish dietary laws that include specific rules for the types of meat that can be eaten and how they must be prepared.Nahoum's chicken supplier, who used to deliver kosher chicken to the confectionery's kitchen, passed away late last year. With kosher meat no longer available in Kolkata, where the community is dwindling and most members are elderly citizens, owner Adam Nahoum decided to remove chicken items from the shelves.
Adam is the fourth-generation owner of the iconic bakery that was established by his great grandfather Nahoum Israel Mordecai, a Baghdadi Jew, in 1902. Adam's father Issac died last year. While the shop used to stay shut on Sabbath (Saturday for Jews) in its early years of business, it had for several decades been observing Sunday as the day of weekly closure since all other shops in New Market are closed that day. But now it has reverted to staying shut on Saturdays and open on Sundays between 9.30am and 1pm, when some sections of the market operate.
The shop will also stay shut on all Jewish holidays, including new year Rosh Hashanah and Passover that marks the historical exodus of Jews from Egypt. Speaking to TOI, Nahoum & Sons general manager Jagadish Chandra Haldar, who has been with the shop for 49 years, said the decision to close on Jewish holidays and stop sale of chicken items came in January from the owner's family. "Adam, who is a physician and stays in Jerusalem, asked us to stop selling chicken items. Thereafter we stopped making chicken items. We continue to sell the much-in-demand fish pantheras and egg chops," he said.
Another employee said since this was a family-run business it was their prerogative to set the rules. "We simply follow instructions. Perhaps, the family members who used to manage the business earlier were not as religiously inclined," he said.
Adam, who lives in Israel, has been visiting the city twice every year during vacations since childhood. He was in the city this March along with cousins.
Jael Silliman, who has documented and written extensively about Jews in Kolkata, said practising kosher in day-to-day life in Kolkata turned a challenge after the mid-80s when the number of Jews in the city dwindled and there were no tradesmen, including butchers, who could carry the legacy forward.
"In Jewish homes, we usually have cooks cut the chicken in accordance with Jewish dietary laws (kosher). But we also have chicken elsewhere. There are others who wish to follow the faith more rigorously and it is their choice. Nahoum's chicken patty was very popular and is missed by customers," she said.
BOX
* Nahom & Sons Pvt Ltd was established in 1902 by Nahoum Israel Mordecai, a Baghdadi Jew
* The position of the shop was changed 14 years later to the current place in the market
* After his death, Elias Nahoum took responsibility of the shop
* Later, Elias' sons Norman Elias Nahoum, Solomon Elias Nahoum, David Elias Nahoum and then Issac Elias Nahoum took charge one after the other
* At present, Issac's son Adam is managing the family business
Products on offer | Biscuits, egg chop, fish pantheras, macron, brownie, fragrant marzipan-fudge cake, Madeira, honey light plum cake, special fruit cake, plum pudding cake, rich plum cake, black forest cake, pizza, minced pie tart, cheese samosa, baklava, rum ball, cheese puffs, almond pastry, almond ring, lemon tart