The Depanneur model focuses on how to provide quality food at a reasonable price, all while working to engage the local community in a variety of ways.
by Shauna Trainor | May 9, 2013 | Toronto Guardian (formerly Toronto Is Awesome)
I believe all of us have seen the power of food in bringing people together – creating conversation and fostering community – whether family, friends, colleagues, neighbours, or strangers. The Depanneur is working to implement a potentially disruptive business model to leverage the power of food in bringing together and strengthening the community.
RedefiningTO highlights the people, projects, programs and places making a difference in Toronto and beyond. We hope that sharing these stories will inspire you to join the ranks in redefining Toronto for the better.
At a recent Pecha Kucha, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet one of the brave presenters, Len Senater, who shared the story of his unique west side restaurant The Depanneur, located at 1033 College St. The Depanneur’s mission is to showcase and inspire culinary talent, to promote innovation in the food sector, and to collaborate with food entrepreneurs as well as existing social enterprises all in an effort “to expand the horizons for food in Toronto.”
The Depanneur (Quebecois for convenience store) was named not only in reference to the fact that the space used to be home to a convenience store, but also because Len believed it was fitting given his view of the food industry in Toronto as “en panne”, or rather, broken.
“There is a real formulaic approach to ‘fine’ dining in Toronto – trendy, flashy, hip, pricy, loud, meat-heavy etc… It’s conspicuous, status-forward, and for and by people with money in a way that doesn’t really interest me. There are lots of reasons for this, including high rents and bureaucratic barriers that raise the stakes so high no one wants to take any real risks. You end up with a lot of derivative, trendy, status-quo stuff, rather than more innovative and creative stuff,” he says.
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Why The Dep?
Because:
Hosting a pop-up is too expensive
Having to set up all the infrastructure for a pop-up from scratch: venue, kitchen, dining room, promotion, tickets, staffing, etc. is incredibly time/resource intensive. This limits who gets to cook/host.
Attending a pop-up is too expensive
The high setup costs drive up the ticket price; this limits who gets to attend.
Pop up culture lacks diversity
As a result, there ends up being a strong bias toward the same kind of people (e.g. privileged white guys) doing the majority of the cooking/eating and defining the aesthetic/ethos of pop-up culture. Read more
The Depanneur Kitchen Rental
The Dep rents out its kitchen by the hour to people who need inspected, commercial kitchen space to prepare their food; it is available on weekdays.
(Note: on Mondays and Fridays, the kitchen is only available up to 3pm). Read more
Field Sparrow Farms Winter Vegetable Box Program
Field Sparrow Farms has taken on the vegetable delivery service that was formerly provided by Kawartha CSA. They are offering a winter veggie box subscription that will run every other week from January 16 to May 22. The subscription will include 10 deliveries of 20 lb. boxes of healthy, naturally-raised vegetables sourced primarily from the Amish community in the Kawartha Lakes region. Read more
The Dep’s Co-Op Kitchen
The Kitchen is now available for full day rentals on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
For those who commit to a monthly schedule with a minimum 6 month commitment, we rent out our kitchen along with some cold and dry storage space at these special rates:
$350/month for 1 full day a week
$650/month for 2 full days a week
$900/month for 3 full days a week.
Feel free to contact me for more details and to book a viewing. We do have some availability in our upstairs café kitchen, available by the hour on weekdays before 3pm.
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In addition to our regular public events like our Drop-In Dinners, Supper Clubs and Workshops, The Dep also runs a shared commercial kitchen space for independent food entrepreneurs. We have shared the facilities with great local culinary talents like Cookie Martinez, Nice Buns Bakery, Roots of Health Nutrition, and Santo Pecado Mexican Catering. The wonderful Alchemy Pickle Company also got its start in our space before moving on to her own kitchen.
Situated below The Dep, the kitchen has a commercial convection oven, an electric stove, several refrigerators & freezers, a deep sink with spray hose, washroom, lots of prep space, etc. There are some appliances & smallwares (stand mixer, food processor, bowls, etc) which are shared, but most people use their own gear.
Members of the kitchen co-op meet every 6-8 weeks to help with a deep clean of the space. Renters are expected to have their Food Handler’s Certificate, and I also strongly recommend people have their own insurance in addition to the basic package I have for the Dep.
ReDefiningTO: The Depanneur | Toronto Guardian
The Depanneur model focuses on how to provide quality food at a reasonable price, all while working to engage the local community in a variety of ways.
ReDefiningTO: The Depanneur
by Shauna Trainor | May 9, 2013 | Toronto Guardian (formerly Toronto Is Awesome)
RedefiningTO highlights the people, projects, programs and places making a difference in Toronto and beyond. We hope that sharing these stories will inspire you to join the ranks in redefining Toronto for the better.
At a recent Pecha Kucha, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet one of the brave presenters, Len Senater, who shared the story of his unique west side restaurant The Depanneur, located at 1033 College St. The Depanneur’s mission is to showcase and inspire culinary talent, to promote innovation in the food sector, and to collaborate with food entrepreneurs as well as existing social enterprises all in an effort “to expand the horizons for food in Toronto.”
The Depanneur (Quebecois for convenience store) was named not only in reference to the fact that the space used to be home to a convenience store, but also because Len believed it was fitting given his view of the food industry in Toronto as “en panne”, or rather, broken.
“There is a real formulaic approach to ‘fine’ dining in Toronto – trendy, flashy, hip, pricy, loud, meat-heavy etc… It’s conspicuous, status-forward, and for and by people with money in a way that doesn’t really interest me. There are lots of reasons for this, including high rents and bureaucratic barriers that raise the stakes so high no one wants to take any real risks. You end up with a lot of derivative, trendy, status-quo stuff, rather than more innovative and creative stuff,” he says.
READ MORE »
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? Read more
A Tale of Two Corner Stores | Alimentary Initiatives
A Tale of Two Corner Stores
by Aruna Antonella Handa | February 20, 2013 | Alimentary Initiatives
When Len and I lived in Montreal (we didn’t know one another well, but our circles happily overlapped), the “depanneur” or the “dep” was the corner store where you went to get locally bottled cheap imported wine, cigarettes, a box of (usually) stale crackers and not much else. When Len took over the lease at his joint on Havelock and College, the place was a veritable dump. I could not believe it. But Len’s face was all shiny and new and full of optimism. I, on the other hand, could barely breathe in there. Len and his pal renovated the place physically, but while he was chipping away at the paint on the walls, Len was also chipping away at the traditional notions of a corner store. Instead of poisons like industrial candy and tobacco, Len was going to sell sour dough breads and organic vegetables. Instead of trashy magazines and porn, Len was offering serious food journals. And instead of a sorry patty reheated to within an inch of its life, Len served frittatas and wicked grilled cheese. In short he renovated the corner store, in form and in content. The Dep also features cookery classes and makes for an amazing venue for a private party.
Len is currently looking for someone to manage the corner store part of his operation as he has his hands full with running the Dep’s two kitchens, his remarkably successful and rather uniquely public supper club, the Rusholme Park, as well as his runaway success Drop-in Dinners. So, when Len asks for help? We all chip in. Alimentary’s Toronto Office Markets wouldn’t have been half as successful were it not for the brilliant support Len has quietly offered food start-ups with his kitchens by renting them commercial kitchen space. I call this small businesses weaving into one another to build resilience, to make it harder for strong winds to blow us away…
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Secret Heart – the adventure…
This Thursday’s Valentine’s Day Supper Club, Secret Heart, is by far the most extravagant, outrageous and perverse culinary activity I’ve ever undertaken. I have been fantasizing about this meal for weeks, obsessively researching exotic ingredients and obscure recipes. Some of the highlights include: Read more
Spicy New Venture Award | FoodForward
Spicy New Venture Award: Len Senater and The Depanneur
by Darcy Higgins | 08/15/2012 | pushfoodforward.com
For a food-related business or entrepreneur whose recent work has led to the development of a delicious venture contributing significantly to increase good food, food justice, and/or good food job expansion in one or more of Toronto neighbourhoods.
Len Senater followed his heart and translated his passion for food into the recent establishment of The Depanneur, a self-described place “where interesting food things happen.”
Located between Dovercourt and Dufferin on College Street, Len and his restaurant have played host to an endless variety of community food events such as the Rusholme Park Supper Club and casual, drop-in Tuesday dinners where you get whatever Len decides to cook.
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Secret Heart Menu – NSFW
Menu for Secret Heart: A Valentine for Adventurous (Food) Lovers.
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FOOD: Recipes for community hubs | Spacing
FOOD: Recipes for community hubs pt. 1
NOVEMBER 30, 2011 | BY ALLIE HUNWICKS | spacingtoronto.ca
The Depanneur was started by Len Senater, a former design firm partner who had never worked in the restaurant business before. Initially put off by the resto business model, Senater created The Dep and it’s sister company, The Rusholme Park Supper Club to reflect what he loved most about the communion of food. The Supper Club is a truly unique experience, wherein anyone (professional chef or otherwise) can take over The Dep’s kitchen and host a dinner party.
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Happy Anniversary to The Depanneur
I first became acquainted with The Depanneur (or ‘The Dep’ as it has become to be known) this past winter when my husband and I signed up to become a member of The Rusholme Park Supper Club (Family Style dinner parties hosted by a rotating cast of chefs) and joined them for an evening with…