Thursday Night Student Talent Showcase

On Thursday nights, The Depanneur hosts a Drop-In Dinner aimed at showcasing the talents of culinary students. If you are a student, and are interested in participating, contact Len at The Dep and we will look at scheduling you in.

How does it work?

Student Drop-In Dinners are held on Thursday nights, starting at 6pm. Dinner costs $12, tax-in ($10.62, before tax). This should be for a dish that makes a satisfying dinner. It can be one item (eg. a pasta), two (stew & potatoes), three (meat & two veg) or more; it’s up to the chef.

Beverages, a house soup ($4) and side salad ($3) of mixed baby greens with vinaigrette, and some dessert options will be provided by The Dep to compliment the meal. These are not the chef’s responsibility, unless they want to make particular soup or salad as an explicit part of their menu.

Chefs are expected to make a minimum of 20 covers/portions, but can make more if they wish (and can fit it in their budget). If a chef feels that they are expecting a particularly large crowd, then inform me and we can make the necessary adjustments.

Chefs are expected to do their own shopping for ingredients. The Dep can usually be counted on to have some staple pantry items, like oil, salt, pepper, common spices, etc., but chefs should try and bring everything they need, especially if they need a significant amount (e.g. oil for deep frying). Contact me to confirm a particular ingredient.

Chefs will be reimbursed $60 for ingredients (i.e. approx $3 per portion) and receive a $40 honorarium at the end of their shift, plus 1/2 the tips collected. An especially busy night (> 30 covers) may also earn a bonus.

I will provide a URL to the event description on our website & a Facebook event will be created; students are encouraged to promote the event and invite guests as much as they can.

Chefs can use the kitchen starting from 3pm the day of their events. All food served must be prepared at The Dep or at another inspected commercial kitchen (@ school). Dinner service begins at 6pm and goes until we are sold out or around 8-8:30pm.

Chefs are responsible for keeping the kitchen clean during their prep and cooking, and for cleaning up the kitchen area after dinner is over, including pots & pans. Dep staff will look after the dining area and customer dishes & cutlery.

If a chef would like to offer an additional item for sale beyond the dinner menu (e.g. a dessert, an appetizer, a culinary product (jam, sauce, spices), etc.), that is OK, but they need to let me know, and are responsible for any ingredients costs. They will receive 60% of these sales.

I need to know the name of the chef, their proposed menu with a bit of description and any biographical details about them at least 2 weeks prior to their night. Chefs are welcome to contact me by email, phone, fb or twitter with any questions. Attending another Drop In Dinner at the Dep prior to cooking, to familiarize themselves with the layout and the overall vibe is highly recommended.