Great Eastern's cake back for Christmas after 8 years

Hundreds of Kolkatans queued up since morning outside the Great Eastern Hotel to buy the famous cake

A cake made from the nine-generation-old recipe of a British baker was made available to residents of this city after a gap of nearly eight years, just in time for Christmas.

Hundreds of Kolkatans queued up since morning outside the Great Eastern Hotel to buy the famous "Great Eastern cake" made from the recipe of David Wilson, a baker from Herefordshire in England. The fabled bakery was closed in 2005 after the hotel was sold to the Lalit Suri Hospitality Group.

After an extensive renovation, the hotel threw open its doors earlier this month, but they are yet to formally open the bakery due to licensing issues.

"It will open fully in a couple of weeks. But we are selling only our cakes and cookies for two days till Christmas. The proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund to help orphaned children," the hotel's general manager, Rakesh Mitra, told PTI. He said although modified a little bit with the passage of time, the old recipe of their cakes is intact.

"Since morning we have sold thousands of pieces of this cake. The response is overwhelming," Mitra said. Started by Wilson, the bakery was a household name in the British quarters who queued up for fresh loaves and tea cakes. With the passage of time, it became popular with other residents also.