Supper clubs: These Indians are earning up to ₹6 lakh a month hosting intimate dinners at home
No big kitchens. No expensive leases. Just good food, warm vibes, and a killer Instagram game.
Supper clubs are intimate dining experiences hosted in private homes, where 6–14 strangers gather to eat, talk, and connect over curated menus. Think of it as dinner party meets pop-up restaurant—with a personal touch that restaurants can't match.
And yes, people are paying a premium for it.
Take Bengaluru couple Aditya Ramakrishnan and Dongli Zhang. From the comfort of their cosy home, they serve up a 7-course Sichuan meal under the name Ma La Kitchen Supper Club.
The best part? Their supper club reportedly earns them up to ₹ 6 lakh a month: no restaurant, no investors, just passion and a great palate.
In Gurgaon, Archit Agarwal and Natasha Ratti Kapoor turned a simple Instagram idea into The LOST Table, one of the fastest-selling supper clubs around.
Born in Hollywood during the 1930s, supper clubs were once hubs for music, food, and conversation.
Now, they're back; except instead of smoky lounges, you're entering a stranger's apartment for dinner, you'll talk about for weeks.
Post-pandemic, people aren't just craving food—they're craving connection. And supper clubs are delivering both.
No two menus are alike- You might get Kashmiri rogan josh one week and Korean BBQ tacos the next.
It's not just food, it's theatre- Hosts often share the stories behind the dishes, their culture, or even the playlist.
Secret locations, limited seats- Bookings usually happen via Instagram or WhatsApp.
Hosts aren't always chefs: Most are passionate home cooks turning side hustles into full-time gigs.
What makes supper clubs special is the vibe. You show up not knowing anyone. By the end of the night, you're swapping numbers, sharing dessert, and joining a WhatsApp group that lives on long after the food is gone.
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ARMY brat Asees Kohli perhaps developed her love of Korean cuisine through Korean drama. A pastry chef in Jammu, Asees dove into Korean cuisine with gusto, even enrolling in a six-month language course at the Korean Cultural Centre in Delhi so that she could read recipe books. 'Korean restaurants became my regular haunts because I wanted to compare and see if my dishes tasted authentic,' says the 27-year-old. 'I've now been to every Korean restaurant in Delhi NCR.'Korean cuisine has opened up a whole new culinary world for the Indian foodie. With bold, fermented flavours like kimchi and gochujang, Korean dishes—low on oil, rich in spices and mostly grilled or boiled—sit comfortably on the Indian palate. Ramyeon, a comfort food for Koreans, has made its way into Indian kitchens, clocking 56 per cent growth according to consumer intelligence firm NielsenIQ. In Mumbai's Mahavir Nagar, it is not unusual to see a ramyeon mobile cart serving packets of Buldak Ramen and Nongshim, while nearby, HighCha serves bingsu, a Korean dessert made of shaved ice and sweet toppings. In Delhi too, Korean food and culture are firmly woven into the urban fabric, with Korean fashion boutiques and eateries lining neighbourhoods like Hauz Khas Village, Majnu Ka Tila and note of this shift, Indian FMCG brands are spicing up their offerings with Korean flavours. ITC's YiPPee!, HUL's Knorr, Nestle's Maggi and CG Foods's Wai Wai have all launched Korean-flavoured noodles. 'Today, 70 per cent of the growth in the instant noodles category is coming from Korean flavours,' admits Varun Chaudhary, CEO of the CG Group. This year, the company plans to expand its Dynamite range of Korean-flavoured noodles with two new flavours—kimchi and gochugaru—to the existing five. Last year, ITC teamed up with popular Korean singer Aoora to launch three Korean flavours of Bingo! chips and released the K-Pop number 'Maeun Maeun' (spicy in Korean), which has netted over 20.4 million users on YouTube and 45.7 million impressions on Instagram. Food delivery platform Swiggy has seen a 59 per cent growth in online orders for Korean food over the past three years, and not just in metros and tier-1 cities but also in places like Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Mysore, Mangaluru, Nashik, Rajkot and restaurants are also experiencing a shift in their customer base. What began as niche dining spots for expat communities are now attracting mainstream diners. When Korean restaurant chain Kori's first opened in 2012, its patrons were mostly Koreans, northeasterners or foreigners. But that changed after the pandemic. 'Now, 80 per cent of our diners are north Indians,' says owner Lee Sang Hoon. Driven by growing consumer interest, he has expanded to six outlets and also launched a Korean food convenience store, K Friends, with three locations in Delhi-NCR and one in media has accelerated the reach of Korean trends, bringing them to Indian consumers faster than ever. Indians now want the lifestyle products they see in K-Dramas—from beauty to fashion to stationery. Korean lifestyle brand Koja, for instance, has expanded to eight stores across India and is growing at 30–40 per cent year-on-year, according to founder and managing partner Bryan Tseda. 'Initially, it was just K-culture fans, but the customer base has broadened. In metros, K-beauty drives sales, while in tier 2 and 3 cities, it's fashion and stationery,' he says. One of Koja's hottest sellers? TirTir cushion foundation—a viral beauty product in Korea. (Photo: Rajwant Rawat) THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTYIf beauty is only skin-deep, Korea has shown the world how to perfect it. 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Today, there are over 60 Korean beauty brands in India, including The Face Shop, Laneige, Etude, Cosrx and Sulwhasoo. Most of them entered the Indian market through offline retail and platforms such as Nykaa and Amazon. 'K-beauty has evolved rapidly from a niche category to a major growth driver within the beauty portfolio, growing at an impressive 75 per cent year-over-year,' says Siddharth Bhagat, director, Amazon Fashion and Beauty India. Skincare leads the category, with products like hydrating serums, sheet masks, lip sleeping masks and soothing creams flying off the shelves. Indian brands, too have jumped onto the K-beauty bandwagon. Actress Kareena Kapoor, in collaboration with Sugar Cosmetics, launched Quench Botanics in 2022, while Reliance Retail's beauty retailer Tira recently introduced its rising popularity, K-beauty has seen significant growth in the past five years. According to market research and consulting company Grand View Research, the global K-beauty market was $91.99 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3 per cent from 2023 to 2030. Though there are no specific numbers for India, the segment is certainly one of the fastest-growing in the Indian skincare space. SEOUL MATESThe growing obsession with all things Korean has naturally led to an interest in visiting the country itself. The number of Indians travelling to Korea rose from 122,771 travellers in 2023 to 176,668 in 2024, a 44 per cent year-on-year growth. In just the first four months of this year, 60,000 Indian travellers have already visited Korea. That enthusiasm isn't waning despite the steep cost—a week-long trip to Korea can cost Rs 2.5-4 lakh per person. 'Four to five years ago, travel to Korea was mostly for business, led by chaebol like Samsung and Hyundai in India, with most trips being two to three nights long,' says Neeraj Singh Dev, executive vice president, Thomas Cook (India) & SOTC Travels. 'Today, they last at least a week.'Myong Kil Yun, regional director, India & SAARC countries, Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO), also observes a growing trend in personalised or themed itineraries. 'Due to the cultural affinity Indians now feel with Koreans, many Indian tourists express a desire to visit filming locations, try Korean skincare routines, or attend K-Pop concerts,' he says. 'This has resulted in more travellers opting for K-Drama tours or heritage-focused travel inspired by what they have seen on screen,' he says. Younger travellers, in particular, are drawn to pop culture experiences like visiting the BTS bus stop in Jumunjin or exploring locations from K-series like Goblin and Crash Landing on is indeed having a prolonged moment in India. If America gave us burgers and the Hollywood film, the Italians pasta and pizza, China brought noodles and cheap consumer goods and Japan introduced us to anime and sushi, the Korean wave is broadening the Indian worldview in a myriad other ways. This is how you project soft power, and India can perhaps take a leaf out of the Korean playbook. n—with Shelly AnandFandom central: H. Subhashree | 31 | Staff Nurse, Bolangir, Odisha (Photo: Rajwant Rawat) 'Saranghaeyo' (I love you) is not an alien expression to Subhashree, and she has K-Dramas to thank for that. It was in 2019 that the Odisha native chanced on a photograph of BTS member V on an app in her phone. One press of her thumb later, she was immersed in a world of 16-hourlong seasons of TV shows she would spend 'whole nights watching' on her days off from work in NCR. 'I wouldn't even know how time would pass,' she says. She has watched at least 35 such shows, with Netflix, Viki and HiTV being her hunting grounds. Her affinity is for the classical historical genre, with shows like Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, Empress Ki and Mr Queen, which 'show (Korea's) culture, dresses and food'. She adds, 'The places are depicted so well that you feel like going yourself.' It's where she feels Indian shows are lacking: 'Hamare yahaan ka culture nahin dikhaaya jaata (They don't show our culture).' Part of the BTS ARMY since 2016, she proudly displays their poster on her bedroom wall and owns keyrings of Jimin and V. 'I like it that they put (social) messaging in their songs,' she adds.—Suhani SinghFandom central: The Trend | K-Pop dance group from Arunachal Pradesh Thanks to his K-Pop-crazy elder sisters, Arunachal Pradesh's Aku Bengia was introduced to bands like BigBang, BTS and Super Junior. Inspired by their YouTube videos and those of Stray Kids and Seventeen, he formed a dance group called The Trend with the sole purpose of winning the annual All-India K-Pop contest organised by the Korean Cultural Centre India. The Trend follows the stylish, spirited and synchronised choreography synonymous with the genre. 'K-Pop dancing is a complete package of entertainment—there's drama and each member gets to be in spotlight,' says Likha Tatam, one of its seven members. After finishing runner-up in two back-to-back editions of the contest, The Trend finally accomplished their dream last year of winning the title in the dance category with a routine set to Stray Kids's 'God's Menu'. The prize included a five-day trip to Seoul, their very first time abroad. 'Belonging from such an interior state, it was a proud moment. We could set an example to kids here and show that by being persistent and disciplined you can achieve your dream,' says Aku. The group has participated in the TV show Dance Plus, toured across Arunachal Pradesh and recently set up a dance studio in Itanagar. Next up is singing like their idols.—Suhani SinghSubscribe to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch
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