A city institution is turning 100.

[Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi]

Don’t be nervous about the forthcoming new year. At least one of its aspects is guaranteed to be special, in a sweet way. 2026 will mark the 100 years of Wenger’s.

An iconic Delhi institution, the cake shop started as a catering outfit for the British troops in 1924. A Swiss lady called Jeanne Sterchi had co-founded the place with her husband, a Mr Wenger.

Two years later, in 1926, the catering outfit reinvented itself as a confectionery and tea room at the Exchange Store Building in north Delhi’s Civil Lines. The confectionary shifted to its present address in Connaught Place’s A Block during the late 1920s, or perhaps the early 1930s—nobody is sure. Connaught Place itself was being built around the same time.

Whatever, as the waning years of colonial India marched towards independence, the new confectionary in the new Connaught Place gradually raised its profile among Delhiwale. At some unrecorded point in time, Mr Wenger was no longer in the scene; his lady had married her second husband—a Mr Pfenninger; and their confectionary was being administered by general manager Brij Mohan Tandon. Then, in 1944, the owner-couple, who had no children, sold the business to their devoted general manager, and retired to the Himalayan foothills of Dehradun, where they lie buried.

Meanwhile, the confectionary continues to be with Brij Mohan’s descendants. Today, its 10 bakers produce 40 varieties of cakes, 20 varieties of biscuits, and six varieties of salted snacks, which include the popular shami kebab and mushroom patty. Back in the 1960s, the cake shop also dished out desi mithais like rasgulla, gulab jamun, jalebi, imarti, sandesh, boondi laddu, and the very famous raajbhog. (The confectionary’s three restaurants, namely Rendezvous, La Mer and Green Room were history by the 1970s.)

Presently, the confectionary’s butterscotch cake (deliciously crusted with roasted kaju!), and its pineapple cake, are among the most-loved delicacies. Also beloved is Charanjeet Singh, the graceful manager-emeritus who has been with the shop for a whopping 60 years. The soft-spoken “Sardarji” is often seen standing behind the “Advance Order” counter, attired in turban and tie—see him in the photo, with assistant manager Kamleshwar Prasad holding the butterscotch cake.

These days, thanks to the looming Christmas and new year, the cake shop stays super-packed with Delhiwale. It is important to point out here that Delhi has grown sufficiently sophisticated to contain many more excellent confectionaries. They have been introducing us to a wider variety of flavours. Even so, the Connaught Place cake shop has something that the capital’s other cake shops can never have—a very long history.