09/19/2026
The Depanneur in The New York Times
"A Dinner Party with Locals
During a Saturday evening supper club gathering at the Depanneur, a cooking school and culinary event space in Toronto’s downtown Chinatown, I sat with six other diners at a long table covered with banana leaves. On top of those Len Senater, the owner, and an assistant spooned a long mound of rice they then topped with a series of Filipino dishes, including smoked eggplant salad, green papaya in vinegar, tofu with mushrooms, coconut squash, twice-cooked chicken and slices of pork roast stuffed with aromatics, like a Southeast Asian version of porchetta.
“Tonight is a unique style of Philippines dining called kamayan, which means, ‘by hand,’” Mr. Senater said, introducing a meal prepared by the chef Maria Polotan — who was busy in the kitchen during service — meant to be eaten without utensils. “It came out of the army barracks,” he said.
In addition to classes and culinary talks, the Depanneur holds periodic dinner parties such as this one, presented by budding entrepreneurs, culinary instructors and everyday cooking enthusiasts across the ethnic spectrum.
“It’s the way I would like to travel,” Mr. Senater told me during a break in the meal at the loft-like space with wood floors, whitewashed brick walls and exposed ductwork. “I could go to a restaurant, but I’d rather go to a dinner party with a bunch of locals.”
The pop-up event (79 Canadian dollars, or about $57) was B.Y.O.B., and offered a chance not only to try Filipino foods but to meet my table-mates, who were all from Toronto and offered generous tips on what to do in town.
After the dessert of sticky rice in coconut milk, my new friends and I walked it off on lively Spadina Avenue, chatting about where to eat next."
Multicultural neighborhoods, market tours and dinner parties offer culinary intrigue in Canada’s largest city.
