My first visit to Connaught Place on my second day in Delhi had started with Wenger’s. I had not chosen it for its legacy or popularity, but simply because I wanted a quick bite. I asked three people for suggestions on my way and all of them directed me to this one place. Upon entering the bakery, my ignorance mocked me as I swam through scores of people ordering their favourite desserts, savouries or cookie jars. Most seemed to have a sharp idea of what they wanted. Overwhelmed, I grabbed a sandwich and made my way to a bench outside. No points for guessing what I did next, I looked up the place and read all that was there online.
It has been a year since that day, and now I mock people who ask about the history of Wenger’s. Delhi does that to people, creating a sense of pride the moment you feel even a little bit of belonging to its history, big and small. Wenger’s was a grand establishment occupying two floors, with a ballroom, a cafe, formal dining rooms and live music. It was started as a catering outfit for British troops in 1924. By 1926, it was operating as a tearoom and confectionery from Kashmere Gate, before moving to its present location in Connaught Place in the early 1930s. The Swiss couple who established it, or the Wenger family, introduced a taste of Europe through their Swiss chocolates, French breads, margarine cakes and pastries. Eventually, the business would neither stay Swiss nor become British, but become a key identity of independent India, run by an Indian family.
A Bakery For An Imperial City
Wenger’s in the pre-colonial times represented a particular part of the colonial capital city where food was a marker of class, nationality and access. In other words, if I were to be in its early clientele, I would have to be part of the wealthy elite, British or Indian. Inside, I would have been greeted by a lobby with twenty-foot ceilings and columns, complete with ballrooms and party rooms. Going to Wenger’s would not have meant grabbing a sandwich, but a lavish evening of meeting people, celebrating and even engaging in some business tête-à-tête.
Its menu, too, catered to the tastes of its original customers. There were four principal pastry flavours: chocolate, pineapple, vanilla and strawberry, along with French, white and twist breads, sponge cake, Swiss chocolates, chocolate cookies, and chicken and vegetable patties. In other words, the initial idea of what a modern bakery in colonial Delhi could be was limited by the imagination of the people it served. Although, Western-style baking was not new to India, with Mambally Bapu establishing the Royal Biscuit Factory in Thalassery in 1883, producing European-style cakes and biscuits while working with ingredients available in India.
Wenger’s, however, occupied a particular position within this history. It was not only established to serve an imperial population, but was also part of a city being deliberately designed around that population. When Connaught Place emerged as New Delhi’s commercial centre, Wenger’s moved with it. The bakery’s new location placed it among the shops, offices and institutions of an expanding colonial capital. This development was, however, not too far away from 1947.
When The Customers Changed
It was 1945 when the Swiss founders sold Wenger’s to Brij Mohan Tandon, who had worked at the establishment as its general manager. However, for the Tandon family, the relationship went much beyond a conventional transfer of ownership.
“The relationship was much more personal than a simple employer-employee bond,” the family recalls. “Mrs Wenger treated the Tandon family like her own, and after Brij Mohan took over, the families remained close.”
The business subsequently became a family enterprise, carried forward by Brij Mohan and his three sons, Ranbir Singh Tandon, Om Prakash Tandon and Anup Kumar Tandon. Today, Wenger’s is run by Aman Tandon and Atul Tandon, the third generation in the line. “Under the Tandon family, Wenger’s adapted to a new Indian clientele while preserving the European traditions, quality and character that defined its beginnings.”
The change in customers was more gradual. British patrons left India, while Indian politicians, diplomats, businessmen, artists and families increasingly became part of Wenger’s world. The family recalls a roster that includes “Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Sheila Dikshit, Gautam Gambhir,” alongside generations of Delhi families who made Wenger’s part of their celebrations and traditions.
For the family, the food changed through an “evolution rather than a sudden change in taste.” Classic cakes and pastries continued to sell, while savouries and Indian sweets became increasingly important. Plum cake, shortbread and lemon tart, among the older favourites, have remained bestsellers.
While it saw this shift in ownership, clientele and food, the old restaurant and ballroom became harder to sustain. The larger spaces were divided and rented to other businesses as Connaught Place continued to grow in importance as the heart of Delhi. Wenger’s did become physically small, but its cultural reach was only increasing.
What Survives In A Changing City?
The old Connaught Place had been conceived as a commercial district for an imperial capital. The Connaught Place of today serves a vastly larger, democratic city. Rajiv Chowk metro station brings commuters from across Delhi; offices, retail stores and restaurants occupy spaces that once catered to a narrower social world. The colonial name has officially changed, even if Delhi continues to call it CP.
The grand social world around Wenger’s that belonged to old Delhi disappeared. But for the Tandon family, there was conscious deliberation over how much Wenger’s should give in to change, and what it should hold as constants. As the city changed, the family consciously chose to preserve the bakery, its recipes, quality, craftsmanship, personalised service and old-world hospitality, allowing Wenger’s to evolve without losing its character.
For the Tandons, if there is one dish that exemplifies this entire history, that is “Wenger’s plum cake. It began as a European tradition, but over generations became part of Delhi’s own festive culture, much like Wenger’s itself: born in colonial India, carried through Independence, and continually adapted while preserving the taste and craftsmanship of the past.”
It’s been 80 years since India’s Independence, and more than 100 years since Wenger’s existence. If you find yourself in Block A of the Inner Circle of Connaught Place, and are wondering what that place is where there is a queue or a crowd outside, you are probably looking at Wenger’s. Join it, and dig in.
(With inputs from the Tandons)
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