The eggless brownie and the conundrum of cultural purity

Returning to Kolkata from Delhi one morning a year or so ago, I stopped at Delhi airport at an outlet whose fame I had encountered only on social media. Theobroma is a Mumbai-based confectionery, and had not made its presence felt in Kolkata yet, a city already strong in this segment with both contemporary bakeries like Kookie Jar and its spinoff, Cakes, as well as heritage bakeries like Flury’s, Nahoum, and Saldanha all catering successfully to a public that likes its cakes.

I needed a coffee and, spotting a Theobroma kiosk at a prominent junction leading to the departure gates, thought it a good occasion to check out their reputation by asking for a brownie along with the coffee to take on to the flight.

In the way that one always thinks happens only to oneself, I was preceded in a split second by a lady with her teenage son in tow, and waited behind her to be served, worrying about the boarding time. Apparently the boy had the same worry, which he voiced to his mother, who peremptorily and loudly told him not to worry, beta, because they were in business class.

This was followed by a seemingly endless number of pastries, cake slices, and...

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