It’s easy - just drop us a line! You do not have to be a professional chef, but you need to feel confident that you can prepare a family-style meal for up to 32 guests.

If you are teaching a class, you should be comfortable with being an instructor for up to 16 participants, and preparing recipes for them to follow/take home.

Pretty much anything you like. Our Supper Clubs are typically a 3-4 course family style meal. We will review your proposed menu and offers suggestions if we thing it needs to be simplified, expanded or tweaked.

You can choose to have a vegetarian/vegan option if you wish. It is encouraged as it broadens the audience, but it is not required. Accommodating other special dietary (eg. gluten-free, nut-free, halal, etc.) is not required or expected, but if you can, let us know.

Chefs bring (and pay for) all their own ingredients. We may have some basic pantry staples on hand, but cannot guarantee to have any specific ingredient.

We typically have cling film, foil, parchment, paper towels, cleaning rags and aprons on hand, but recommend cooks bring their own to be on the safe side.

We have a well equipped kitchen with most things chefs need to prepare their meals (pots, pans, trays, bowls, knives, appliances, etc.). You can find a more detailed equipment list elsewhere in these FAQs. You can bring any special/specific equipment you need.

We have plateware, cutlery, and glassware for 32 guests. You can find a more detailed equipment list elsewhere in these FAQs. You are welcome bring any special serving or decor items you wish to enhance your event (linens, printed menus, decorations, flowers, etc.)

We have enough cutting boards, bowls, knives, etc. for cooking classes up to approx 16p

We have a sounds system you can plug into if you wish to bring your own playlist.

We have a large wheeled cart which you can use to help load in/load out.

You may want to consider bringing containers to pack up any leftovers.

We do NOT have an ice machine.

Absolutely. You are welcome to bring 1-3 people to help you with whatever you need (e.g. sous chef, dishes, photography/social media, etc.)

We look after setting up the dining room, serving guests, clearing tables, and our dishwasher will look after all guest dishes.

You are responsible for cleaning anything you used to prepare food in the kitchen.

Typically chefs receive approx. 50% of the ticket revenue; ie. for a standard $79 ticket, chefs will get $40 per person. Chefs also get 50% of any tips collected for their event.

We will pay you by e-transfer within 1-3 days of your event. If you are required to charge HST, then you must submit an invoice with your HST number.

Typically we don’t do the same kind of event more than once every 3 months. It is possible that you could do more than one kind of event within that time period.

We normally turn off ticket sales 24-48 hours in advance of the event, or as soon as they sell out. If you wish, can keep tickets open right up to the event time. You can always check in with us for an update on the number of tickets sold.

Typically you can get into the kitchen 1-2 hours before a cooking class and 3-4 hours before a supper club.

Leftovers are yours to do with as you please. We are always happy to take some home and share them with staff; nothing goes to waste.

Yes. We can prepare discount coupons for your event, and set aside any number of ticket for you, but the value of these coupons/comps will be deducted from your take home share of the revenue.

If The Dep chooses offer its own discounts, sale pricing, coupons or comp tickets, you will be paid your normal amount for those tickets.

We promote all our events through our website (~3K visitors/month), email newsletter (~6.5K subscribers), our Facebook Page (~10K followers) and Instagram (~6.5K followers) accounts, and by posting all our events to a wide variety of local event listings and groups.

We expect all our guest cooks to help co-promote their own events to the best of their ability. We both want events to be as full as possible, but keep in mind that we are promoting hundreds of different events every year.

We have found that event success, while never completely predictable, is most significantly impacted by each individual chef’s promotional efforts.

Yes. If you have a product (food, book, kit, ingredient, etc.) that you wish to sell at your event, you are more than welcome to do so. You would need to bring in your own payment terminal and/or cash float. We do not take any percentage of those sales.

In some cases, we may be able to arrange to make some supplemental items available for pre-order online at the time of ticket purchase. We take a 20% commission on online sales.

We have a well equipped kitchen with most things needed for our kind of events.

We have enough cutting boards, bowls, knives, etc. for cooking classes up to approx 16p

2 large fridges with freezers

2 stoves with convection ovens (1 regular, 1 induction)

Lots of pots, pans, trays, bowls, knives, smallwares, measuring utensils, small speed rack, etc.

Microwave, toaster oven, 2 electric griddles, 2 XL Instant Pots, Kitchen Aid stand mixer, Vitamix blender, Cuisinart 14C food processor, immersion blender, electric kettles, 1800W induction plate, commercial Bunn coffee maker, torch

We do NOT have: sous vide, deep fryer, grill, chafing dishes, steamer baskets

We have 4 large adjustable tables with food-safe wooden tops that can be raised to counter height for cooking classes, and dropped to table height for dining.

Gallery?

We have service for 32 guest including app, main and dessert plates, large and small bowls, cutlery, water glasses, wine glasses, mugs, and lots of platters and serving bowl options. You can bring any special serving or decor items you wish to enhance your event (menus, decor, flowers, etc.)

We provide napkins, water bottles, tea lights/candles

We do NOT have: table linens,

Gallery?

You can choose to have a vegetarian/vegan option if you wish. It is encouraged as it broadens the audience, but it is not required. Accommodating other special dietary (eg. gluten-free, nut-free, halal, etc.) is not required or expected, but if you can, let us know.

We look after setting up the dining room, serving guests, clearing tables, and our dishwasher will look after all guest dishes.

You are responsible for cleaning anything you used to prepare food in the kitchen.

Yes! We have a sounds system you can plug into if you wish to bring your own playlist. We have a expansive house playlist of eclectic international music.

PS - we also have a vintage vinyl DJ setup that we can bring out for special occasions.

We have done a number of events featuring small bands, DJs, and other performers, and can adjust the ticket price to help cover associated costs. We have access to a very large TV monitor for presentations or videos, as well as a vintage vinyl DJ setup for parties. If you want to incorporate some kind of additional entertainment element into your event, let us know.

The Dep’s Pay It Forward program invites guests to make an optional donation at the time of their ticket purchase and/or post-event via email. If there is a non-profit cause you wish to support as part of your event, let us know, and we can look at incorporating our Pay It Forward program to support your initiative.

Events typically require a 50% capacity minimum to run. If an event is hovering near the minimum, we will discuss options with the chef.

If we cannot reach minimum attendance we may cancel the event, usually 24-48 hours in advance. Customers are refunded and no funds are paid out.

In the event of an emergency where you are not able to fulfil your chef/instructor duties at your event, we will first try to reschedule the event, and failing that, we will cancel the event, refund guests, and no funds are paid out.

We are located on the 5th floor of CSI Spadina, at 192 Spadina Ave, on the west side, just north of Queen St, and south of Dundas St.

Get Directions: https://www.google.com/maps/dir//csi+spadina/data=!4m6!4m5!1m1!4e2!1m2!1m1!1s0x882b34dca60fffff:0x8b368918b5f88868?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj9oYLizvDqAhWSlXIEHTqUD14Q9RcwC3oECBIQEA

TTC options include:

510 Spadina Streetcar: Spadina and Sullivan 501 Queen Streetcar: Queen and Spadina 505 Dundas Streetcar: Dundas and Spadina

There is metered parking all along Spadina.

There is a Green P parking lot approximately 2 blocks north of the Centre for Social Innovation, on the east side of Spadina. It is only accessible from the East (northbound) side of Spadina, so you must approach from Queen St.

There also is a public lot on Sullivan St. Note that Sullivan runs westbound so you must approach from Huron St.

Lot on Cameron?

We have a large wheeled cart which you can use to help load in/load out.