Sadar, Cantt.
Khshitij Gupta recounts that his father Ramsharan Gupta started this sweet shop along with his brothers Vinod Gupta and Shekhar Gupta in 1992. They laid the foundation of a long-term relationship with customers from a small shop in the Sadar area of the Cantt. They named the establishment as a tribute to Lord Krishna, who was said to have been served 56 dainty dishes at the end of his labours of lifting up Mount Govardhan. The entire family pitched in to develop the Chhappan Bhog brand. Khshitij’s father had some advice to offer for winning the confidence of consumers. “We should understand what customers want, and not impose our taste on them. We will succeed if we work with complete honesty and utmost effort to deliver what the customer likes.” The journey that started then has led to the establishment of the brand as a household name. Not just in the town or the state, but across the world. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shop served customers across the world with sweets and savouries flavoured with saffron, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, carom seeds, bay leaves and nutmeg. It is believed that these condiments contain substances that help to keep disease at bay. Their walnut barfi is much in demand these days. On the occasion of the festival of Holi, a special bahubali gujhiya is prepared. It is 14 inches long and weighs 1.5 kilograms. Stuffed with a filling of reduced milk mixed with saffron, shredded almonds and pistachio nuts and loaded with sugar, the gujhiya takes 20-25 minutes of deep-frying in ghee to get done. Khshitij claims that their establishment sells the highest-priced sweet in all of India. They call it the “exotica” and it costs 50 thousand rupees a kilogram. The ingredients include blueberries from America, Macadamia nuts from South Africa and Australia, and Hazelnuts from Europe. Pine nuts, saffron and Mamra almonds are also added. The eye-catching advertisement campaign run by Chhappan Bhog is also enjoyed by the people of Lucknow.
