SRINAGAR: The smell of gunpowder may have overtaken the Kashmir Valley in recent months, but inside ‘Le Délice’ at the Boulevard on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar, it’s the aroma of freshly baked French breads and cookies that rules. And this aroma and the ‘melt-in-your mouth’ cakes and desserts that Saqib Mir, the owner of this ‘French bakery’, offers has got everyone—from local residents to politicians, diplomats and tourists—hooked.
Last month, when French envoy to India Alexandre Ziegler visited Kashmir, he could not resist visiting ‘Le Delice’ to enjoy the authentic French pastries there. “Such a warm and tasty welcome and what a beautiful family venture,” Ziegler tweeted on June 11 after having the delicacies there and enjoying the hospitality of 35-year-old Saqib and his French wife, Melanie.
Three-time Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and his son and former CM Omar Abdullah have also become valued customers. “Both Farooq and Omar Abdullah were overwhelmed by the delicacies. They encouraged us a lot. Omar also tweeted a couple of times and it helped us a lot,” Saqib says.
It’s thanks to the hard work of Saqib and Melanie that ‘Le Délice’ has managed to attract such high-profile customers. Mir, a Srinagar resident, says baking was his passion. “I went to France in 2005 and did a diploma in French Patisseries. I lived in France for nearly a decade and married Melanie,” Saqib says.
But his heart yearned to return to the Valley. “I had the urge to do something for my people and this brought me back to Srinagar in 2014. I and my wife initially wanted to set up a cafeteria, but we decided to set up a French bakery as I knew how to prepare different kinds of bakery products,” Saqib says.
The couple has had to brave many ups and downs during their journey to realise this dream. Saqin says in the 2014 floods, the furniture and machinery of the bakery was damaged. “After the floods, we went back to France and returned the next year to plan and set up the ‘dream venture’ again,” he says.
Melanie says they again left for France after the 2016 unrest in the Valley following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani. “We returned in 2017 to again pick up the threads. Now, the business is doing well and we have started another shop at Jawahar Nagar area in Srinagar this year,” she says.
People visit ‘Le Délice’ to purchase almond delice, French heart, choco fills, walnut and lemon tarts, choco walnut tarts , cookies, pastries, cakes and other delicacies.
The couple did not carry out any publicity campaign to attract visitors. “The foreigners and the locals who visit our bakery turn out to be our publicity campaigners,” Saqib says.
Behind ‘Le Delice’ is the workshop where he and his team of 18 bakers, including four young women, prepare the delicacies. “We try out different recipes to get the perfect results. There is no compromise on quality. While other bakers use animal fat, we use butter. Due to this our products have rich quality and are a bit expensive,” Saqib says.
Melanie says they have to get supplies (creams, chocolates etc.) from different parts of India as these are not available in Srinagar. She, too, is a votary of quality over quantity. “For us, every customer is precious. We want to provide them quality product so that they come back,” she says.
Although the bakery is expensive, locals don’t mind paying more for the quality it offers. “I take constant feedback from customers to improve the products and add more variety,” he says. So, the next time you are in Srinagar and have the urge for desserts, you know where to go.