INDIAN AFTERNOON TEAS
I saw an advert for food popups and took the plunge
Anupreet Attridge, 42, The Indian Team Rooms, Bristol
When mum-of-three Anupreet found herself zoning out of a work meeting, she realised it was time to follow her heart. “I had no hospitality experience, but had grown up cooking Indian food with my grandmother and wanted to start a food business. I saw an advert for food pop-ups and took the plunge.”
Anupreet delivered a threecourse meal of contemporary Indian food, which sold out, and went on to deliver more pop-up meals and supper clubs.
“The thing I most wanted was an Indian afternoon tea. I loved the culture of it, with the beautiful crockery and traditions. I plucked up the courage to host an Indian afternoon tea and tickets sold out in a week.
“Customers asked me to deliver afternoon tea boxes, and with my
husband Edward on furlough, we gave it a go together. We cooked traditional Indian snacks with contemporary flavours, like butternut squash and sweetcorn samosas, paneer and spinach onion bhajis.”
As Anupreet and Edward took orders and made deliveries, they heard stories of hardship. “I asked customers to nominate people for a treat. With each batch of afternoon teas, we delivered free surprise boxes to people who needed a boost.”
Anupreet had been through hard times herself after the loss of their stillborn daughter, Emma.
“People’s kindness during our bereavement helped immensely, and there were a lot of people in our Bristol community who needed the same, including a lady going through breast cancer, an elderly couple coming to terms with a dementia diagnosis, and a mother with a young girl who’d lost her dad. They were very moved to receive our boxes. We also regularly packaged mini boxes of snacks and scones to distribute to homeless people.” anupreetattridge.com
@theindiantearooms
ANUPREET’S ADVICE
“If you have an opportunity, always say yes, even if you have no idea how to pull it o . Figure out the ‘how’ later.”