In high school Purkayastha started a food club--called the Students for the Promotion of Exotic Culinary Experimentation--and began hosting dinner parties that featured colorful fare like duck, live sea urchin, escargot and reindeer.
Two examples are the Beijing Chicken roll with sea food sauce (similar to Beijing duck, a traditional Chinese dish) and Spicy Diced Chicken (resembling a popular Sichuan-style dish).