In the competitive London food scene, an NRI has found a unique way to bridge the gap between strangers with the humble Panipuri. Ankita Khante, IIT The Guwahati graduate and former Samsung designer hosts a monthly ticketed supper club that turns traditional Indian hosting into a modern community experience. Khante told HT.com that she runs her “small food startup” with her husband Aman Krishna.
Ankita Khant’s supper club, The Bauji Club, hosts around 12 people a month. (Ankita Khante)Ankita Khante and her husband, Aman Krishna, together run a supper club called ‘The Bauji Club’. Khante, who was born and brought up in Nagpur, Maharashtra, completed his graduation in architecture from VNIT Nagpur and post-graduation in design from IIT Guwahati. He moved to UK in 2024 after marrying Aman Krishna.
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He further said, “Aman has done his graduation (Bachelor in Computer Science) from IIT Dhanbad and his Masters (Masters in Computer Science) from IIIT Hyderabad.He moved to the United States a year before Khanate.
What did he do after the transfer?”I took a short break to settle in London and understand the UK job market. Before leaving, I worked as a product designer at Samsung Research (Bangalore) and lived in Bangalore for about three years. Hosting was always something I loved doing for friends, so the idea grew naturally from there,” Khante told HT.com.
How did he get the idea to start Bouzi Club?”The supper club started as a community idea. In London, a lot of people are new and don’t have a circle yet, and food is the easiest way to bring people together. We started with a few friends to test the format, and then it turned into a ticketed supper club,” he says. “At a few events, we realized a lot of important points in the first 10 minutes, so we introduced pani puri as an icebreaker. It can instantly get people talking as everyone has their own ‘pani puri expectations’ and is interactive. Now it’s our signature starter and we do it at almost every dinner.”
The NRI couple hosts about 10 to 12 guests every month and serves their 7-course Indian-fusion menu as part of The Bauji Club. Tickets cost £50 (approx ₹6,000) per person.
“We’re a small, home-run business at the moment, so we don’t disclose turnover publicly, but it’s growing steadily through word of mouth and repeat guests. We also run a festival-themed series during peak festival months (August-November).”
What obstacles did he face?Talking about the struggles she and her husband faced while starting the supper club, Khante told HT.com that they faced three major challenges.
“We don’t come from a business background, so everything was self-taught: pricing, ticketing, planning, operations. Understanding the local palate: finding the right spice level and flavor balance for London guests. Navigating a new country’s rules, sourcing and logistics. Over time, we developed a reliable format and now operations are much bigger.”
How has his IIT education helped him?He also discussed how his IIT education helped him navigate the business world. “Also, a small note on the ‘IITians selling pani puri’ framing: We are genuinely proud of our education and the institution we come from, and we don’t see this journey as a ‘fall’. If anything, that training gave us the confidence to take risks, learn quickly, and build something from scratch in a world that was completely new to us. We’re not from the service industry, so stepping into hospitality has been a gentle learning curve, and we’ve come to really hone the craft of hosting and serving. So we are not trying to denigrate any institution.”
What is a supper club?A supper club is a cross between a private dinner party and a restaurant. It is a “social dining” experience where people, often strangers, gather to eat a multi-course meal in a non-traditional location, such as someone’s home or a temporary ‘pop-up’ location.
