Secret Heart – the adventure…

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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

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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 remains the ultimate collaborator and is committed to fostering a strong, local food community. On Friday nights, Len opens his kitchen to Toronto cooks who serve their own delectable creations to an excited and dedicated Depanneur clientele of all ages.

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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FOOD: Recipes for community hubs | Spacing

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FOOD: Recipes for community hubs pt. 1

NOVEMBER 30, 2011 | BY ALLIE HUNWICKS  |  spacingtoronto.ca

“This is intended to be a much more participatory environment. By coming here you are more actively engaged in what’s going on with food than to go to a restaurant with a kitchen in the back and with people you never see and food that comes from somewhere that nobody ever knows about,”

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

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Happy Anniversary to The Depanneurmanningcanning.com

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…

An open mic for culinary performers & a gastronomic journey for diners | Yonge Street

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An open mic for culinary performers & a gastronomic journey for diners

REA MCNAMARA | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012 | yongestreetmedia.ca

The model positions local chefs in the middle of an open-source social enterprise that balances for-profit activities with a mission to support good-food movement-minded entrepreneurs.

If you’re just looking at its former hole-in-the-wall bones, then yes, The Depanneur seems like any other cosy corner café of reclaimed architectural pedigree. Exposed brick, vintage hardware, antique windows and menu chalkboards are indeed the norm décor accents for now-fashionable Brockton Village storefronts. The painted cue card signage for homemade jams, organic local produce in wooden crates and ideal coffee grinds is Honest Ed’s-esque, while the tables that line its sunny windows are clearly repurposed chewing gum display racks. It’s all very much in keeping with the café’s franglais Québécois homage to Montreal’s ubiquitous convenience stores, and the building’s previous various retail iterations.
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The Depanneur

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yelp.ca

The Dep is so much more than just a cafe, grocery stop, and sometimes restaurant. It’s also an inspiration and reminder to gather with loved ones, congregate with kindred spirited strangers, and let someone else do the cooking at least once in a while…

 

How Pop-Up Chefs Became the New Indie Rockers | Broken Pencil

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Food Not Bands

by Ryan Bigge | October 3rd, 2012 | brokenpencil.com

“Indie food can be expensive and exclusionary. And it often lacks the community infrastructure that is so crucial to subcultures. Senater is working hard to change that. The Depanneur is unafraid to be ridiculous and ambitious and affordable and accessible. Past food events include Porknography (a nine-course meal, with each recipe featuring pig), a drop-in Ital dinner (Rastafarian-informed vegan cuisine that avoids the use of salt), and a black and white meal with a black and white dress code. For Senater, the goal is to enable creativity, spontaneity and originality while removing any element of elitism or luxury or decadence. (As he jokes, “This may be detrimental to our long- term success. Sometimes I get the feeling that if I charged three times as much I’d be way busier.”) Seating about 20 people, Senater wants to foster the atmosphere of an intimate social supper club, rather than a restaurant.”
—Ryan Bigge

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The Depanneur | The VONG choice!

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The Depanneur

By Jacqueline Vong | 6.09.2012 | thevongway.blogspot.ca

At this point of the evening, I felt like we were all old friends at our end of the table, laughing and showing off pictures of our lives, from concerts we’ve enjoyed to our pet rats/ cats and dogs… the experience itself was truly special as it was a really great evening of food, new friends and a cozy new place.

The Depanneur, a very fitting name for a former convenience store come communal dining spot which by day serves as a little coffee and sandwich place and by evening, a casual and unique supper club. Having lived in la belle province (Montreal), I loved my local Dep around the corner and so I was very intrigued about trying this new dig.

My new friends at the Dep
The opportunity came up when my friend Heidi invited me to the Dep which serves as host to the Rusholme Park Supper club events. Her friend Natalie Ryan was the chef du jour and was going to prepare a Mediterranean style dinner for us. I jumped at the opportunity to visit the Dep.
I walked in slightly tardy and was greeted by a long table for about 20 people. Everybody was mingling and I chose to sit with a few people towards an end of the table. I made fast friends as I brought out 2 bottles of wine, as this event, and all dinners are BYOB. I wanted to make sure I was well stocked up and was more than happy to share the wealth!

Natalie, our host chef, vision was to transform 14 years of her travels in more than 22 countries into a culinary tour of the southern Mediterranean. Let the feast begin!

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Terra Madre Dinner

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Go to Terra Madre Dinner Picsprairieboyfarms.wordpress.com

Here are some pics from the Terra Madre Day dinner. It was a really great night from beginning to end. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated with us and to our fellow suppliers Sunrise Orga…