When Sugary Scent Mingle With Divine Taste: Defence Bakery Since 1962

With a family legacy of decades, Defence Bakery is always ready to serve freshly baked treats and satisfy the sugar cravings of its customers. It is one of the oldest patisseries and bakeries in Delhi. Founded in 1962 by Jagdish Mitra Dhingra, with its innovative recipes and variations of international cuisines, Defense Bakery continued to stay a favorite go-to bakery of people in South Delhi.

One of the oldest bakeries in Delhi. Image source: Tripadvisor

Before the independence, around the year 1937, Jagdish Mitra Dhingra owned a biscuit factory named ‘National Biscuit Factory’ in Multan (presently in Pakistan). Jagdish was an official caterer to BIA (British Indian Army) and supplied biscuits and cookies to soldiers during World War II. However, even though his factory was thriving with success, after the partition, he moved to Bombay and opened a candy shop.

When his chocolate shop in Bombay didn’t work out as well as he planned, in 1962 Jagdish founded Defense Bakery in the Defence Colony Market in South Delhi. In the beginning, it was only a wholesale bakery and delivered various premium quality confectionery products to retailers and other bakers. Dhingra never compromised with the quality of products he was offering, so soon Defence Bakery gained popularity and love from the public. And in 1970, with the help of his son, Dilip Kumar Dhingra, the brilliant and progressive entrepreneur, re-founded the bakery and started taking customers directly.

From the oven of the Defence Bakery, Image Source: AskLaila

During the 80s, Jagdish’s son Dilip Dhingra took over the business. He was a professional baker and invented various international recipes with local ingredients. Dilip successfully created various international recipes like a pizza base, atta bread, etc., which led the bakery to become the first seller of pizza base of its time. He loved baking, more precisely to experiment with recipes, and was always all ears to listen to customers’ demands for new products and made sure to bake them. It made the bakery an all-in-one bakery and a regular go-to place for its customers.

Specials of the Defence Bakery, Image Source: Defence Bakery

After Dilip Kumar Dhingra, his two sons Gaurav and Tushar Dhingra took charge of the bakery. Defense Bakery has over 350 products to offer which are mainly categorized in the menu as bread, sour bread, baguettes, pizza bases, rusk, dips, spreads, pies, tarts, namkeen, snacks, cakes, cookies, chocolates, cereals, muffins, etc. Among them, sugar doughnuts, truffle pastries, jeera cookies, marble cookies, almond tarts, ancient sour bread, patties mutton, etc., gain the most love from people.

Mouth-watering cake at Defence Bakery, Image Source: Defence Bakery

The core foundation of Defence Bakery was the invention, customer service, and quality products, which are well maintained from the first generation of the bakery to the third generation as well, regardless of facing any rough situation in business. That’s the reason, in 2016 when the Centre for Science and Environment inspected all bakeries in Delhi to find potassium bromate, a chemical that is added to bread for improvisation but can cause cancer. However, Defence Bakery stood out in the survey as none of its products contained potassium bromate.

Also, with the dedication of owners, constant support from loyal employees, and immense love from its customers, in the 2020s, the Defence Bakery won many awards such as Best Customer Experience, Best Bakery Of the Year (North), Recommended on Restaurant Guru, etc.

With innovation as the foundation, Defense Bakery is the perfect example of bringing international taste with local ingredients. Though some original recipes stay untouched, experimenting with new recipes never really stops. And the owner’s effective entrepreneurship led Defence Bakery to open two branches in Noida; Alma Bakery and Alma Cafe, which serve customers with the same love and dedication.