Supper clubs are serving up community in Chennai

In a city where catching up usually means booking a café table weeks in advance, a quieter trend is taking shape inside living rooms, apartment terraces and family homes. Across Chennai, supper clubs and potlucks are bringing people together over home-cooked food, where the expectation isn’t perfection, just participation.The school WhatsApp group that became a monthly potluckWhat started as a few parents chatting during school pick-up slowly turned into a monthly dinner where everyone brings one dish. The spread changes every time: homemade mushroom puffs, watermelon and feta salad, chicken cutlets passed down through generations, nannari coolers, brownies baked with the kids and, occasionally, a dessert picked up from the neighbourhood bakery. “We started because we wanted our children to have friends outside school, but somewhere along the way, we realised the adults needed that community just as much.

Nobody cares if you spent four hours making something or four minutes buying it. Carrying a dish to someone’s home is just another way of saying, ‘I’m glad we’re doing life together,’” says marketing agent Joohie.The supper club that feels like visiting your grandparentsFor some in Chennai, the biggest draw isn’t just the menu but the feeling of being welcomed into someone’s home. One such supper club, started by granddaughter Shriya Srivatsan, centres around the cooking of her grandmother Saroja Narayanan, with family favourites such as panagam , homemade ice cream, paan urundai and the banana walnut sweet once reserved for family dinner parties.

“I’ve always dreamt of giving paati and thatha a cute little café, but because of their age and health, that wasn’t really possible anymore.

Then, I started seeing supper clubs becoming popular and thought, this is perfect. My grandparents have always welcomed people with open arms,” admits Shriya. For Saroja, the joy lies in seeing strangers become family. “Nowadays, everyone is busy. Everybody eats separately and life moves so fast.

So, when I see young people sitting together, talking, laughing and taking second servings, I feel very happy.”‘Our potlucks are the opposite of a formal dinner party’For many in Chennai, these gatherings are proving that community doesn’t always need a big event or a special occasion. Sometimes, all it takes is an extra chair at the table and someone asking, “What are you bringing this month?” In another corner of the city, a group of friends has built a potluck around one simple rule: nobody has to cook.

One couple experiments with Korean cream cheese garlic buns, another brings homemade hummus, someone is in charge of cocktails, and the friend who “can’t cook” always arrives with artisanal gelato.Urban planner Aditya K says, “We decided early that our potlucks would be the opposite of a formal dinner party. Make handmade ravioli if you like. Bring mini from your favourite bakery if you prefer. The point isn’t who cooked what, but that everyone arrives with a little piece of themselves.”Written By: Aashna Reddy