Bengaluru :
A look at the iconic 56-year-old Thomsons Bakery in Cox Town, where wood-fired ovens run through the day.
Tradition runs deep with this modest bakery owned by CT Abraham, popularly known as Thomsons Bakery. Founded in 1962 by the late C I Thomas and wife Anita, who moved to Bengaluru in 1943.
Business started small, in a nook tucked away in a street next to St Peter’s Church, Cox Town. Although the bakery is small, it has made its mark in Bengaluru and attracts the local population and has connected with its customers over the years. As you enter the bakery, a mouth watering aroma of freshly baked bread greets you and lures you in. The bakery is stacked with goodies rows of rich brown plum-cake, crispy samosas and light, flaky macaroons.
The Thomases initially started supplying bread and other bakery goods in bulk to industrial canteens like ITI and MICO, besides the Army and Air Force canteens as their quality and reasonable prices made them popular.
“When World War II broke out, Dad came down from Kerala to look for a job, as a lad of 25. He worked in various places and after picking up experience in business, decided that it was a good idea to get into the food business because bakery products were always in demand and there were no established bakeries in east Bengaluru,” says son C T Abraham, a chartered accountant.
Thomsons Bakery has, over the years, gained popularity for its plum cakes. The secret, says Abraham, is the wood fire technique. “It give the plum cake a unique flavour which is hard to get in any other oven. Even our bread and other products have a distinctive flavour because of this,” he says.
The fireboard is set aflame every day at 9:30 am. The wood is burned for an hour, after which the ashes are removed and the baking process begins, going on for about 45 minutes or so, and voilà, a fragrant batch of 150 loaves is out. The concept of using a fireboard and following tradition is quite crucial as they believe that using it adds a woody flavour to the bread. “It is indeed a big responsibility to maintain quality day in day out and especially in a food business. Support of family members is crucial”, added Abraham.
Just as son Abraham took over the bakery, loyal customers have extended to new generations too. The bakery has seen a number of weddings, having supplied plum cakes and other goodies too. Their products are bought by customers to gift to friends and family abroad.
Abraham says, “Business blooms in the wedding season as well as during Christmas, when over 6000kg of plum cake is produced.” Their recipe goes back generations, with roots in English tradition. A lengthy process is followed, involving the fermenting of fruits for six months. The cakes last for two to three months at least.
The bakery has a menu with 45 to 50 varied items that range from apple cake, cream cookies, chocolate pastries and jam roll to chicken puffs, samosas and vegetable cutlets. The 56-year-old bakery does quite well, while remaining on the quieter side with its advertising and promotion, and reaching out to retail customers. They have no plans of expanding as they prefer to stay that way such that quality can be maintained.
“It takes a lot of commitment, hard work and constant supervision to produce a few tons of quality plum cakes every year to satisfy our customer base and reputation,” included Abraham.
Big brands and bakery chains have left a dent in Thomsons business, but Abraham knows that no mechanized bakery can beat their plum cakes.
The bakery produces most of its products in its own small factory located down the road from the bakery. Nine employees work within the humble ambience of the bakery and factory. Even with the steady pace of business, the future of the bakery is uncertain because of the probable absence of someone to take over the enterprise in future.
—Pariza Khan
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Bangalore News / TNN / May 26th, 2018