Doris Fin’s Medovik, a Russian honey cake

Bajan Crop Over Conkies by Shem Barker

Camilla Wynne preparing her Fall Vegetable Pickles

Filipino Arroz Caldo by Hanna Grace Medalia

Christine Manning preparing marmalade

Tunisian Couscous by Fatima Khlifi & Zeyneb Rejeb

Sana Mahmoud and her partner

Karahi Aloo – Pakistani Curried Potatoes by Nasir Zuberi

Tibetan Momos by Tsewang Chodon & Lhundup Gyatso

Seville Orange Marmalade by Christine Manning

Alissa Kondogiannis & her mom preparing latkes

Granola by Laura Repo

The inimitable Chef Greg Couillard

Salatet Shmandar (Lebanese Beet & Chickpea Salad) by Sana Mahmoud

Tsewang Chodon

My sister, Stephanie, pretending to cook at her birthday

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, with Esmaeel Aboufakher and Rahaf Alakbani of Newcomer Kitchen

Ginger Dean hosted brunch and many, many Drop-In Dinners in the early days of The Dep; occasionally her twin sister Yvonne would pop in to help, and it was always a bit trippy to watch them cook in sync.

Celebrity Chef Eddie Huang of Huang’s World visited The Dep for his episode on Toronto’s food scene.

Jonna Pederson was not only our ace brunchatrix for a while, but was also a Korean food wiz, having lived there for many years. Here she is going full Dexter on a batch of kimchi

Dougie Kerr painting The Dep window. Dougie was one of the sign painters for Honest Ed’s, whose iconic signage was a cherished bit of Toronto heritage.

My dear friends Abel & Nicky cooking up a Cuban feast

Gervais Nash bringing in a haul of organic tomatoes from Grant McPhereson’s Pairie Boy Farm

Cook, musician and activist Kalmplex preparing an Ital (a Rastifarian version of veganism) meal

Lisa Kates (left) was a mentor and inspiration from the very outset of The Dep. She went on to co-found an amazing food charity, Building Roots, which aims to address food insecurity in some of Toronto’s most underserved neighbourhoods. Her whole family is into food; here her two daughters joined her in the kitchen.

My nieces, Lucy & Grace, enjoying an ice cream out front

Margret Hefner, an expert in Mexican fruits & vegetables, goofing around.

Sidney Littleton hitching a ride in Celine, The Dep’s late Montrealaise Depanneur delivery bike.

One of the Newcomer Kitchen kids celebrating his first Canada Day

Lesley & Sara embracing the classic diner waitress vibe

A traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony

Sara Lapell of Nice Buns was a tremendously talented baker, and neighbour

Maria Rozynska was a school teacher with a love of food. Here’s she’s making sausage from scratch for a night of Berlin-style curry wurst with her chum Agata. Maria eventual left teaching to start her own cooking school, Just Be Cooking.

Danielle Mitrovic was one of the loveliest people to ever work FOH at The Dep, and not to shabby in the kitchen either, especially when preparing

The early days of the Rusholme Park Supper Club ©Geoff-Fitzgerald

Quinn Cruise, with her mom. Quinn went on to represent Canada at the International Deaf Culinary Olympics.