Hello, I’m Parul, and I’m the Founder & Director of The Travelling Tikki. I’m one of those people who doesn’t know what to say when people ask me where in India I’m from. I’ve had the fortune of growing up all over the country. I’ve lived in Mumbai, Kanpur, Chennai, Gwalior, Kolkata, Delhi, and Bangalore. Interestingly, my parents and grandparents were also quite nomadic growing up. So food at home has always been a wonderful medley of recipes picked up from across the country.

My grandmother and mum are fabulous cooks and queens of their kitchens, so I never had the chance to so much as make myself toast when I was at home! I first came to England for a year as a postgraduate student in 2005, and that’s when I learned, much to my own surprise, that I love cooking. And baking. And food photography. And recipe books. And food markets, and food travelling, and discovering new joints, and hosting, and large wooden tables packed with gorgeous platters. There was no turning back, the genes had won the day, and a dream to build and run my own restaurant someday was born.

In the Spring of 2016 I took a leap of faith and launched The Travelling Tikki.

For almost two years my band of helpers and I had the ride of our lives, trading at food and farmers markets in and around London, catering for private parties and corporate events, hosting supper clubs and delivering dinners locally. My proudest moments were being invited to cook in Angela Hartnett’s kitchen at the London Evening Standard Night Market, and catering for two of Tesla’s launch events - still starry eyed about these!

I then decided (a very difficult decision!) to return to my corporate career to give myself better work-life balance and stability (boring much?). When the pandemic hit, I was furloughed, and I decided to seize the day and return to what I loved doing. I launched Saturdays with Tikki, a supper club experience delivered in traditional Indian dabbas, a Dabba Club if you will, in Bookham, Surrey. The response was phenomenal, for which I am equally grateful and ecstatic.

I eventually returned from furlough, and stopped trading for a few years. I’ve always had Tikki at the back of my mind though.

Five years on from the brief resurrection in Covid times, and 9 years from that first leap of faith, I relaunched the business in the Spring of 2025 as a boutique catering company, creating handmade food experiences inspired by India. We’ve been hosting supper clubs and pop-up brunch events in East and West Horsley, and catering for small to medium private and corporate events. I’m now delighted to tell you that we will be opening our first cafe-restaurant in Little Bookham, Surrey in 2026!

Find out more about our food, take a look at our catering offer, or come grab a bite at Carom, Bookham when we open our doors.