JOURNEY
At the age of seven, I left my grandfather’s house in India with my mother, sister and brother to join my father in the UK who had arrived 2 years earlier to further his medical studies.
It was a cold, alien country in which we found great comfort in the food my mother prepared every day from back “home”, an explosion of mouth-watering flavours and aromas which ignited all our senses.
Each summer as school finished for 6 wonderful weeks, we would return to India and immerse ourselves back in the hustle and bustle of living in households where so many people and generations lived together. Mornings would start with the ladies chatting over a cup of “cha” as they waited for the early morning bags of fresh groceries to arrive from the local bazaar. Then began the task of cooking fragrant and hearty dishes rich in the flavours of the Bengali cuisine. Home cooking was the heart and soul of our family.
Back in England, I would watch my mother intently recreating from memory the same dishes we had eaten back in India with my father driving for miles to find Indian grocery shops to buy all the different spices. As a young teenager I became passionate about cooking my mother’s dishes and as I watched her cook each one, I wrote down step by step each receipe in a journal.
After graduation, I moved from Preston to Oxford to pursue a career in business management but I never lost my passion for traditional Indian cooking, continuing to prepare the same wonderful food my mother made for my own family and friends.
INSPIRATION
Over the years I found that after tasting my home-cooked dishes there was an eagerness in friends to learn how to cook authentic Indian food. The concept of “In Anita’s Kitchen” started over 20 years ago when I decided to teach Indian cookery at evening classes and provide tastings and demonstrations at fundraising events in my children’s school. It was at events like these I realised that my passion was mirrored by many who attended the demonstrations.
Now in 2022, I am finally able to live my dream of working from home sharing that passion for cooking with so many new friends. I invite small groups of 4 to 8 guests to my home kitchen in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire to watch the demonstrations and enjoy the food in a relaxed and convivial setting.
PRIVATE DINING OR SUPPER CLUBS
The private dining events are a relaxed way to spend quality time with family, friends or work colleagues without distractions.
The Wednesday Supper clubs are events through the year, where you share the evening with others who you do not know, but all have a shared love of doing something different! Dates for these are shown on the pricing page,
For both events the dishes are cooked in real-time in front of you. As you sip your drink, sit back, relax and enjoy watching the dishes coming together step by step. You will get to see, smell and eat each fragrant, freshly prepared dish and as the menu is designed around the dietary requirements of the guests no one misses out.
The evenings are an ideal gift experience and special occasions can be catered for with prior notice. Returning guests will taste new dishes every time unless personal favourites from previous evenings are requested.
If you enjoy cooking then drop Anita a message after your event and she will email you the recipes, no note taking necessary!
Indian private dining or supper club in my home in Kirtlington, Oxfordshire.
A Selection of My Dishes
Private dining or supper clubs
Book your own private event with family and friends or join a Wednesday supperclub and enjoy an evening meeting new people over delicious food.