By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen Empress, Chevalier Federico Peliti started his business in Calcutta in 1870, as a manufacturing confectioner and also a dealer of the associated items like cakes, chocolates and etc. Peliti was an Italian and the cook of the Viceroy, Lord Mayo. When his master was stabbed to death at Port Blair by a convict named Sher Ali, Peliti started his own business in Calcutta.
He was operating from a building situated at 11 Government Place in the Dalhousie area. His eatery became famous and popular with its three course lunch for a hefty sum of Rs. 1.50 only. The price remained static for a pretty long time and continued from 1917 to about 1924. It is to be noted in this connection that during 1947 the Firpos’ used to cater a similar standard of lunch for Rs 2.50 only, which proves that Peliti’s charges was not cheap at all according to the market price during the early decades of that particular Century. The Peliti’s also did a good business of outside catering. They were very well known and much appreciated for a variety of cakes. In the month of December 1889 the masterminded Peliti crafted himself a 12’ tall magnificent replica of the Eiffel Tower in sugar.
A historical lunch meeting was organized by R. J. Coombes at Paliti’s on the 26th day of September 1919. As the outcome of the meeting, The Rotary Club of Calcutta was formed and thus opened a new chapter of the Rotarian movement in India, as well as in Asia. However The Peliti’s Restaurant closed down their business in Calcutta before the Independence of India from the British rule.
