According to an employee, the shop has been ordered to remain shut every Saturday (Shabbath) as it is a rest day for Jews.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Jagadish Chandra Haldar, General Manager, Nahoum and Sons, said the decision to close the bakery on Jewish holidays and stop the sale of chicken items was taken by the owner who lives in Israel.

“Adam Nahoum (owner), who is a physician and stays in Jerusalem, asked us to stop selling chicken items. Thereafter, we stopped making chicken items. But we continue to sell fish pantheras, fruit cake, rum balls, and egg chops. The decision was taken due to the unavailability of a kosher butcher,” said Haldar.

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.

According to sources in the bakery, the person who used to deliver them kosher chicken passed away late last year. With kosher meat no longer available in Kolkata, owner Adam Nahoum decided to remove chicken items from the shelves.

Adam Nahoum is the fourth-generation owner of Nahoum and Sons which was established by his great-grandfather Nahoum Israel Mordecai, a Baghdadi Jew, in 1902. Adam Nahoum, who lives in Israel, has been visiting the city twice every year during vacations. He was in the city this March along with cousins.