Latest update:04 February 2026 at 12:57 IST

The NRI moved to the UK in 2024 after marrying a man from Uttar Pradesh and studied computer science at IIT Dhanbad and IIIT Hyderabad.

The woman completed her master’s degree in design at IIT Guwahati. (Image source: Instagram)

In a city where reservations are hard to come by and conversations are hard to start, one Indian snack has become an ice-breaker, thanks to NRIs. The woman, a post-graduate graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati and a former Samsung designer, runs a supper club in London. She hosts a monthly club called The Bouzi Club with her husband, giving residents a curated dining experience that blends Indian flavors with modern storytelling.

The NRI woman grew up in Nagpur and studied architecture at VNIT Nagpur before completing her Masters in Design at IIT Guwahati. She moved to the UK in 2024 after marrying a man from Uttar Pradesh and studied computer science at IIT Dhanbad and IIIT Hyderabad. With no background in hospitality, the couple turned to thoughtful adventure and Indian hosting.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, the entrepreneur said: “I took a short break to settle down in London and understand the UK job market. Before moving, I worked as a product designer at Samsung Research (Bangalore) and lived in Bangalore for about three years. Hosting has always been something I love doing for friends, so the idea grew naturally from there.”

The Bouzi Club hosts around 10 to 12 guests every month and serves a seven-course Indian menu at £50 (about Rs 6,000) per person. As I explained further, the Supper Club started as a community idea for those who didn’t have a circle in London. Believing that food is the easiest way to bring people together, she and her husband started the project and it became a ticketed supper club.

While chatting, she shared the reason why pani puri is in the picture. As she puts it, “After some time, we realized that the first 10 minutes matter a lot, so we introduced Pani Puri as an ice breaker. It gets people talking instantly because everyone has their own ‘pani puri expectations’ and it is interactive. Now it is our signature starter and we do it at almost every dinner.”

The challenges that came her way

Running a home-cooked food business in a new country was never easy for the couple. An NRI woman shared, “We don’t come from business backgrounds, so everything was self-taught: pricing, ticketing, planning, operations. Understanding the local taste: finding the right spice level and flavor balance for London guests.”

According to her, operations are now much smoother after months of trial and error. The couple also hosts festival-themed dinners during the peak months of August to November.

A journey full of pride

As for the framing being spread around ‘IITians selling pani puri’, the woman has a clear vision. “We are really proud of our education and the institutions we come from, and we don’t see this journey as a ‘fall’ of anything,” she said. Instead, she believes the training gave them the confidence to take risks, learn quickly and build something from scratch in an environment they were completely unfamiliar with.

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