Cookme : Bengal’s 177 Years Spice Legacy.

enrouteI
October 15, 2023

India throughout history has been celebrated for its spices. Indian spices are a key component not only in Indian cuisine but also in Ayurvedic healing. These spices made their way throughout the subcontinent as well as attracted many travelers across the globe. To expand their economic interests many European powers(Dutch, Portuguese, French, and British) set up their stronghold in the subcontinent. The advent of industrialization under the British led to the emergence of packaged ground spices in the market. However, over the years factitious spices- be it the yellow chemical in the turmeric powder or mercury in red chili powder infiltrated the Indian markets. In the face of such immoral business practices, one Bengali Spice Company “Cookme” with their pure spices of the highest quality stood the test of time supplying spices for around 177 years.

Cookme: The Brand

Genesis of Cookme :

The shop set up by Krishna Chandra Dutta at Dormahata

Cookme’s humble origin began around 1846 when Sri Krishna Chandra Dutta a resident of Saptagram, Hooghly, with a bag full of spices, came to Sutanati(now a part of Kolkata) in Bengal. He set up a modest shop at Dorma Hata and this laid the foundation of a grand dream that is Cookme’s reality today. The business gradually passed down to Sri Natobar Dutta. However, after the sudden death of Natobar Dutta and due to the devious ploys of one of his employees the business fell out of the hands of Natobar’s son Juddhistir Dutta. To make ends meet Judhistir began to work at a very young age under his father’s employee experiencing a hurl of abuse. Judhistir was able to get back his ancestral business after finding out his father’s employee forged the signature of his father and claimed the family business previously.

Left- Judhistir Dutta, Right- Krishna Chandra Dutta

With the family business under Judhistir’s control, the sale of spices upsurged. During the 19th and 20th centuries, there was primarily the availability of whole spices. Judhistir Dutta witnessed the toils that takes to ground whole spices at home and came out with a revolutionary idea of grounding Indian spices. The grounding of spices is usually done after drying the whole spices. Previously, the whole spices that dried up were usually thrown away. However, Judhistir’s mother’s idea of grounding the dried-up whole spices enabled him to start the scheme of producing large-scale ground Indian spices. Initially, the people had some reservations regarding the arrival of these new spices believing that ground spices would change the chemistry of the food flavour. Nevertheless, when the people realized that it enhanced the flavour of the dishes and less labor was required while preparing these dishes, the sale of these grounded Indian spices upsurged.

Cookme as a Brand:

In the beginning, the grounding of spices was conducted with the manual labor of 20-30 men on large ‘sheel nodas’(grinding stone), but when the demand for these spices increased, the use of machines began to ground spices. This was one of the catalyst events for Bengal as during the same time other spice companies like MDH and Everest were gaining their ground, Cookme was one of the first few spice companies that paved India’s path to commercialization of packaged ground spices and spreading it around the globe. The origin of the name ‘Cookme’(previously known as ‘Krishna Chandra Dutta’s Dokan’) is also an interesting tale due to the English origin of its name when Judhistir could have had an indigenous approach. Although the British have left our land, the British did not leave our minds. Hence, colonial hangover played a crucial role back then and even now. The same was in the case of Judhistir Dutta, being clever he understood the psychological aspect of business. He understood that an English name would attract more buyers and it would also stand out from other spice companies of that time. Hence, there came the English genesis of the brand name ‘Cookme’. ‘Cookme’ was registered as a spice company in the early 1960s. Hence, the foresight and vision of Judhistir Dutta paid off. The future he had envisioned for powdered spices brought prosperity and fame. He brought about a revolution in the realm of cooking spices in Bengal. Along with that, a Bengali boy who had nothing to call his own established himself in society with his head held high.

Cookme as it stands now:

The wide range of products Cookme produces.

In 1958 Cookme began its manufacture of powdered spices (like turmeric, chilli, cumin, garam masala, and coriander) and subsequently over the decades this spice company spread its wings in different culinary avenues as well. In 1963 the Cookme Curry Powder entered the kitchens of Bengal and India. Gradually the Cookme Curry Paste, Ready to Cook, Chinese, and Mughlai spice dishes also entered the markets. Even after passing down to five generations Cookme still follows its core philosophy of putting the customer’s interest first of maintaining high quality and aromatic content. The latest contribution from the House of Cookme was the Immuno Booster to fight the deadly virus shows for a fact how this spice company puts the customer’s well-being first.

The Lab Infrastructure of Cookme.

This Bengal company has been able to build some of the best food labs furnished with high-technology instruments where several lab tests are conducted before bringing something into the market. In an interview with Media Infoline the current head of Cookme Mr. Subhamoy Dutta discussed about the importance the company gave to the authenticity of spices and commented,“We have always prioritized the brand to be a household name. We believe in offering an authentic range of spices that not only satisfies the demands of cooking but also adds to a memorable experience for the consumers. We believe spices are not only for adding taste to your food but also have numerous medicinal values. We always tried to utilize and keep the medicinal values of spices intact.” The attractive tagline of the company ‘magical secret ingredient’ has done full justice to its consumers as we can witness how strong this company has held its foundation for 177 years and spreading its offices across Bengal and Bangalore. To conclude, this Bengali spice company through their honest business ethics stood the test of time and revolutionized not only the kitchens of Bengal and India but also in the end won the race.

Picture References :

Bibliography:

Bhattacharyya, Chandrima S., Lives of Others: Masters of Spices, markers of Time, The Telegraph Online, June 28, 2021.
Chakraborty, Madhusree, Cookme celebrates 175 years of legacy and authenticity, Media Infoline, March 04, 2021.