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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TABLE TALK: Peter McClusky
Before turning to garlic farming and actively supporting the local farm movement, Peter McClusky left his near 20 year stint in New York City spent partly as a Digital Media Exec for a $50/week farming internship with Action Ontario (similar to WWOOFing); or as he calmly states, a move from the bland world of selling towards something he felt was moving and worthwhile*. Read more
TABLE TALK: Carlos and Sandra Flores
It’s somewhat fitting Carlos and Sandra Flores are the first to share a table with a handful of guests for our inaugural Table Talk. After all, it was only two years prior when Carlos strolled into our Brunch with his first-ever batch of his ‘insane’ hot sauce. Carlos says he brought his ‘insane’ sauce with him that day because someone had asked to try it — they loved it — and since then, he and Sandra have continued to hand produce, package, distribute and market what has now become No.7 HotSauce for the very same reason they started, someone had asked to try it. Read more
40 Homes for Dinner
40 Homes For Dinner fundraising event for Homes First — an organization actively addressing homelessness in Toronto.
Hosted by: MP Andrew Cash
Catering by: Rancho Relaxo
Toronto Mentions the Dep 2014
The Grid lists our Rusholme Supper Club in their “Joiner’s Guide”
Indie88 “the sly” Rusholme Supper Club finds a way on Indie88’s Secret Supper Club List
The Swallow Everyone Loves A Pop-Up
Toronto Life highlights Dave Mottershall’s Halloween Feast at the Dep
25 Years After the Fall: Berlin Currywurst Sausage (video)
Maria and Agatka Summer 2014
Shot by Conor M. O’Brien
Healthy Local Food and Alex Mazer
AlexMazer.ca
Video: Alex outlines why Ward 18 Matters and mentions the Dep
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.
—–
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 »