Danny Pagett a developed a passion for cooking working restaurants and endlessly tinkering in his own kitchen. The results are a rewarding hobby for the cook and some very lucky friends & family — and now his own debut Supper Club at The Depanneur!

I have no formal training as a chef; everything I’ve learned has come from restaurants I’ve worked at and experimenting in my home kitchen. But my roots in the kitchen come from my family — I’ve prepared a menu inspired by the foods that started me off and experiences I’ve shared with my family.

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Coconut Mushroom Chicken Soup
A nice warming bowl to start us off, inspired by chicken soups made by mom’s everywhere, including mine. A broth made by roasting a chicken and then braising it in coconut milk, to which I then add shiitake mushrooms, ginger, sesame oil, lemongrass, and lime.

Orange Honey Spareribs
My Dad broke his rib a couple months ago, so I went home to make him and the family his favourite dish – Fried Chicken. My family joked that I should’ve gone with the obvious and made ribs. That’s what I’m doing now. I sous vide the ribs with soy sauce, Japanese cooking wine and a little garlic, then toss them in corn starch and fry them in a wok, along with the pulled chicken from the broth I made earlier. Drizzle the whole thing with orange blossom honey and some red chillies and we’ve got a nice crispy sweet and savoury treat.

Vegetarian Cabbage Rolls
I’ve got Polish and Russian roots, so cabbage rolls are a staple at any family gathering. My Dad makes them, my sister makes them, my aunts and uncles make them, and everyone has ‘the best’ cabbage rolls. I’m not going to try to compete with their classic cabbage rolls, so I’ve put my own twist on it. A batonette of egg, fennel, pine nuts, lemon zest, celery and red lentils wrapped in a leaf of purple cabbage and drizzled with a smoky, spicy tomato sauce.

Sous Vide Pork Roast w/ White & Sweet Potato Tart w/ Beet & Shallot Goat Cheese
My brother Mark, who is an actual chef, taught me how to make this tart. I simply layer white and sweet potato slices in a skillet between layers of butter, salt, pepper, and parmesan. Bake it, slice it, and serve it with a dollop of whipped beet and shallot goat cheese. Pork chops are a Pagett family staple, so I felt I needed to add something similar. The roast is slow cooked via sous vide with orange and smoked paprika, and then pan fried to get some nice browning on it.

“No-Bakes”
My sister Ange runs a small independent baking company with my cousin Sarah called Two Turtledoves. Ironically, the dish I think of the most of hers is a No-Bake; a cookie made without baking. Oats, dark chocolate, and Peanut Butter are all it takes. I didn’t feel the need to put too much of a twist on this one, but I did add a little coffee and coconut, and a dash of sea salt.
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$60 +HST

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Danny Pagett is a self-taught cook. With 12 years experience in the food industry as a server and bartender, he has developed a cooking style through a combination of observing and chatting with the chefs he has worked with, combined with plenty of at-home experimentation. He believes that the world would have more great cooks if everyone wasn’t so afraid of failing with their cooking. You can find some of Danny’s experiments on his Instagram @danquo.

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Every weekend The Depanneur invites a guest chef to host a fun, family-style dinner party.
Learn more about Supper Clubs at The Depanneur