The Depanneur

09/09/2026

And we're back! 🍄 Mad about Mushrooms, plus Chutneys, Cocktails, Cheeses, and more…

Fabulous fungi and the wonder of abundance

I'll admit I've gotten a little bit obsessed with mushrooms this summer. Over the past two years, The Dep has collaborated with Danijela Pulcini of Puck's Plenty on a handful of Mushroom Foraging excursions. I've gone on a bunch of them and have slowly become confident in identifying a few common edible mushrooms. This summer, every time I've had a chance to get into the woods — up near a cottage on Georgian Bay, visiting a chum in Nova Scotia, at a friend's farm on the way to Montreal — I can't help but look for them, and almost every time I have found a few... Chanterelles, Lobsters, Boletes, Giant Puffballs, Oysters, Corals... Each time it is wild little thrill, like discovering a hidden treasure. When I stumbled on an astonishing grove of bright orange Chanterelles and giant porcinis I was almost overwhelmed by a visceral mix of delight, awe, and gratitude. This potent combination was the actual experience of abundance, something I had long considered simply a synonym for 'a lot', not an emotional state.

This intense, personal experience of abundance, of receiving the gift of Nature's unconditional generosity, represents a shift in my relationship with the natural world. I had recently read Robin Wall Kimmerer's beautiful essay, The Serviceberry, and its themes of reciprocity and a gift economy now resonated more profoundly. The feeling of gratitude comes with a sense of reciprocal obligation: if Nature is going to be so kind and generous to me, then I must be that much more considerate in return. The many ecological issues of our time suddenly felt that much more intimate, and I caught a glimpse of deeper emotional currents that have inspired generations of growers, foragers, hunters, environmentalists, and Indigenous peoples the world over living in close relationship with the land. The forest was a poem that I was just learning how to read.

Well, now I'm back in town and getting ready for an abundance of another kind - the start of an amazing fall schedule of Interesting Food Things. I'm kicking things off with a terrific Table Talk with Marina Queirolo on Thursday — she'll be talking about the ambitious Public Markets strategy she has been developing for the City of Toronto, and I'll be making empanadas and more with fabulous seasonal ingredients sourced from markets across the city. Then the coming month is just chock-a-block with great events, with new ones popping up each week like, well, mushrooms!
I hope to see you around the table!
—LEN

Check out all the Interesting Food Things happening at The Depanneur in our latest newsletter
https://mailchi.mp/thedepanneur/2018-2693070

Where Interesting Food Things happen — check it all out in this week's newsletter!

09/04/2026

SAT SEP 26

Indigenous Food Lab by Chef Taylor Parker

The Depanneur is proud to host the Indigenous Food Lab, a monthly residency with Chef Taylor Parker and his team. It is designed as place to experiment with the possibilities of a dining experience rooted in First Nations traditions, a laboratory to explore a Canadian concept of terroir – the flavour of a place — and help rediscover and redefine what Indigenous food was, is, and could be.

Chef Taylor’s sophisticated tasting menus celebrate local and foraged ingredients, and a deep connection to First Nations foodways, to the seasons and land, each meal showcasing ingredients native to Ontario. Weather, timing, season, and the caprice of Mother Nature will determine exactly what will be shared with us. Whatever comes to the table, you can be assured that it will be crafted with skill and creativity of a veteran chef.

Read the profile of Chef Taylor from The Depanneur Cookbook

Chef Taylor Parker is of the Mohawk Nation, Bear Clan, from Six Nations of the Grand River.

Taylor is a proud father, chef, forager, gardener, and friend. His extensive knowledge of native North American plants brings rarely seen ingredients and flavours to his dishes, with the philosophy that food is a conduit to connect people back to the land. Taylor is passionate about bringing like-minded Chefs together to share, educate, and collaborate on unique dishes that seek to define modern First Nations North American Cuisine. Taylor is proud to work alongside fellow cooks and friends Phil Magtulis, Matthew Kleinsteuber, and Tara Sachs at The Depanneur dinner series.

Taylor has spent much of his professional life working in a diverse range of kitchens and catering. He currently consults and offers private dining experiences focused on First Nations inspired, hunt, fished and foraged ingredients. Taylor is also the co-owner of For4ged Candle Company in Brantford, Ontario.

Every week, The Depanneur invites Toronto's best culinary talents to lead fun, hands-on workshops and supper clubs. Depanneur

➡Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca

09/03/2026

🚌 Back To School Sale! 🚌
15% Off All September Events — Only Until Labour Day!

For one week only, use promo code Back2School for 15% off any upcoming event in September.

Just a little taste of what's in store: Argentine Empanadas, South Asian Chutneys, Cuban Seafood, Japanese Mochi, Italian Pasta, Indian Flatbreads, Creative Fermentation, Modern Cocktails, Moroccan Couscous, and more…

Check out all the Interesting Food Things coming up at The Depanneur in our latest newsletter:
https://mailchi.mp/thedepanneur/2018-2693045

Where Interesting Food Things happen — check it all out in this week's newsletter!

09/03/2026

FRI SEP 25

Modern Seoul by Jon Lee

Join Jon Lee for an intimate evening celebrating contemporary Korean cuisine through a thoughtfully curated multi-course menu, set against live music from local musician Dale Ross. Jon's approach blends flavours and ingredients that stay true to Korean cooking — some very traditional — with techniques and ideas borrowed from other cuisines. This isn't fusion for its own sake: everything on the table is unmistakably Korean, filtered through Jon's own internationally-informed cooking style. Served family-style around a shared table, this is an evening of bold flavours, live music, conversation, and connection, Modern Seoul is an invitation to slow down, share a meal, and experience the warmth of Korean hospitality.

Lotus Bite
Crispy lotus root layered with a soy-marinated quail egg and cucumber kimchi. Jon thinks of this course almost as a stack of banchan in a single bite. B

Doenjang Orzo
Creamy orzo built around doenjang, Korean fermented soybean paste, with crispy pork belly and shimeji mushrooms, finished with Parmigiano Reggiano.

Naengguk
A chilled Korean cucumber soup with radish, nori and green onion. This one stays much closer to its Korean roots — light, cold, tangy and refreshing, serving as a palate cleanser between the richer courses.

Yeoneojang
Soy-marinated salmon sashimi served over rice with a rich egg yolk. Drawn from the Korean tradition of jang-marinated seafood, where seafood is cured in a seasoned soy-based mixture — the salmon takes on a sweet-savoury depth while staying silky and delicate, with the egg yolk adding richness once everything is mixed into the rice.

Injeolmi
Jon's take on the traditional Korean rice cake, normally coated in roasted soybean powder.

Jon Lee is the personal chef and owner of Aromas by Chef Jon. His culinary journey was shaped in two kitchens: professionally, where he trained in Italian and European restaurants, and at home, where he immersed himself in the traditions and techniques of Korean cooking.

➡Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca

09/02/2026

THU SEP 24
The Bountiful Cookbook Club — Perch: Soil/Land/Sea with Chef Justin Champagne-Lagarde

The Bountiful Cookbook Club is a new quarterly series from Bountiful Media and The Depanneur, pairing an in-depth conversation with a leading Canadian cookbook author with a guided tasting from their book.

Join culinary storyteller and TV personality Capri S. Cafaro, for this inaugural event, where she will be welcoming Ottawa-based chef, restaurant owner, and cookbook author Justin Champagne-Lagarde of Perch (Ottawa), sharing recipes from his 2026 Taste Canada Award–nominated cookbook, Perch: Soil/Land/Sea.

Perch: Soil/Land/Sea is a portrait of what fine dining looks like when it's built on local resourcefulness instead of imported luxury — squab liver mousse buñuelos, goose heart ravioli, rabbit with balsam fir sauce. Justin walks through that world with a slideshow from his research trips for the book, in conversation with Capri, followed by audience Q&A.
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Perch's house rye bread, compound butter.

Scallop Macaron

Shrimp Cone with Tartare and Caviar

Candied Beet Tube, Candied Fennel, Buckwheat & Buttermilk

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BONUS: Signed copies of Perch: Soil/Land/Sea will be available for purchase at the event for $45 — at 25% discount off the cover price.

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Capri S. Cafaro is the managing director of Bountiful Media, a Canadian-based company focused on culinary storytelling. For the last five years, Capri has been a regular guest on CTV's The Social, and she also appears on SiriusXM Canada Talks Channel 167. She's the host and producer of More Than Maple, a podcast for Harrowsmith Magazine Radio, and host and creator of America the Bountiful, an Emmy Award and James Beard Award–nominated food and travel series on PBS — a Canadian version is in the works. Capri's debut cookbook, United We Eat, received international acclaim for its 50 recipes telling America's story through food. She earned an undergraduate degree in American Studies from Stanford University at age 19, a Master's from Georgetown University, and a Master's in Social Work from The Ohio State University. Capri and her dog Marshmallow are based in Toronto's King West neighbourhood. | bountifulmediabrands.com

Justin Champagne-Lagarde grew up in restaurants — from eating olives out of the jar as a toddler at his dad's pizza joint, to working the fryer at his uncle's breakfast spot at 5am. He trained at Northwest Culinary Academy of Vancouver, worked under Chef Robert Clark at C Restaurant, joined the opening team at Hawksworth, and staged at three-Michelin-starred Atelier Crenn in San Francisco. Back in Canada, he spent five years at Atelier in Ottawa (Chef de Partie to Sous Chef) before running the kitchen at Bar Lupulus for three years. He opened his own restaurant, Perch, in November 2021. .chef | | perchottawa.ca

➡Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca

09/02/2026

SUN SEP 20
Roman Street Food by Erica Foffi

Step into the streets of Rome with Italian cook Erica Foffi and discover the simple, honest flavours that have been feeding the city for generations. These are the recipes you’d find in tiny neighbourhood shops, in the streets, or enjoyed standing at a busy market counter. This is food that tastes like home and tells a story with every bite.

In this hands-on class, you’ll discover:

Supplì al telefono
Crispy rice croquettes with a molten mozzarella centre, so named for the long, stretchy cheese “telephone wires” that appear when you take a bite

Panzanella
A refreshing bread salad with tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and basil, the perfect way Romans turn day-old bread into summer perfection

Frittata di zucchini e menta
Baked with eggs, zucchini, and Parmigiano, a light, fragrant dish that’s a staple in Roman kitchens during the warm months.

Ciambelline al vino
Crunchy cookies made with wine and olive oil — the kind of rustic treat you might find at a countryside bakery, meant to be dipped in a glass of wine or coffee *(Erica will be bringing these for you to try for dessert but there will not be time to make them as a group).

All dishes are vegetarian. Participants will work in pairs and small groups, and leave with recipes and full bellies.

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Erica Foffi was born and raised in Rome, where cooking was part of daily life, a way to connect, celebrate, and show love. After moving to Toronto, she began inviting friends into her kitchen to share the traditional dishes she grew up with. What started around her table soon became a way to teach others about the richness of Italian home cooking and the joy of gathering together around good food.

Her classes are hands-on, welcoming, and rooted in tradition. Erica focuses on simple, honest food made with care, from street food classics to handmade pastas, and on creating a relaxed space where anyone can feel confident and inspired in the kitchen.
| ericaitaliancookin.wixsite.com

➡Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca

09/01/2026

SUN SEP 12
Preserving the Harvest with Caroline Ishii

In this hands-on workshop, chef Caroline Ishii will share practical and creative ways to make the most of the seasonal harvest while reducing food waste. Using fresh local produce, participants will learn how to fully utilize all parts of bountiful autumn vegetables — including tops, stems, leaves and other often-overlooked ingredients — into delicious, versatile dishes to enjoy now or preserve for later, with no complicated canning required.

Caroline will share quick, simple techniques and adaptable base recipes that will give you the confidence to create your own versions at home using whatever is abundant in your garden, CSA box or farmers’ market haul.

Together you’ll make a root-to-shoot pesto, two Japanese-inspired quick pickles, and a delicious seasonal preserve. If you have favourite jars or containers you’d like to reuse, please bring them!

Many of the ingredients will be sourced from local farmers and markets just before the workshop, so the exact flavours and ingredients will be inspired by what is freshest and most abundant at the time. We’ll also explore easy ways to extend the season through freezing, refrigerating and drying, with plenty of ideas for making fresh ingredients last longer.

At the end of the workshop, we’ll sit down together to sample our creations along with yasai no misoshiru (miso soup with vegetable "scraps"), nameshi (pickled greens rice), and genmaicha (roasted brown rice green tea).
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Caroline Ishii is an award-winning chef, writer, and cooking instructor whose food is inspired by seasonality, sustainability, and Japanese influences. She was the founder and executive chef of ZenKitchen, one of Canada’s pioneering plant-based fine-dining whole foods restaurants and has taught cooking workshops and created food experiences focused on making beautiful, flavourful food from simple local ingredients. Her approach to cooking celebrates creativity, resourcefulness and using what we have, from root to shoot. carolineishii.com |

➡Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca

09/01/2026

SAT SEP 19
A Taste of Morocco with Salma Boudina

For most of Moroccan history, eating a plant-based diet was an economic reality; meat was an expensive luxury reserved for special religious holidays and feasts. Daily life for the average Moroccan relied on the creative transformation of humble ingredients like seasonal vegetables, legumes, and grains into a complex, deeply flavourful cuisine. Join Salma Boudina for a delicious introduction to the the vibrant world of vegetarian Moroccan cuisine, an evening of authentic flavours and warm hospitality shaped by centuries of cultural exchange and culinary heritage.

🌱 Menu is plant-based/vegan

Chlada Dyal Khiar w Maticha
A timeless Moroccan salad of tomatoes, cucumbers and onions found on every Moroccan table, accented with a light olive oil dressing.

Zaalouk Dyal Khizzo w Na’na’
A colourful and distinctive mezze, this flavourful dip is made with of mashed carrots, fresh mint, and garlic, transforming a familiar vegetable into an unexpected delicacy; served with fresh, crusty bread.

Ksaksou
For generations, couscous has been at the heart of Moroccan family gatherings, and celebrations. It is a dish that takes time, care, and patience, and one that is traditionally made to be shared. Classic Moroccan couscous starts with the tiny, golden semolina gains, carefully steamed in a couscousier and worked by hand so that it stays light and fluffy. It is then topped with colourful tagine of vegetables. Zucchini, carrots, pumpkin, tomatoes, onion, sweet potatoes, cabbage, turnip and chickpeas are all common — a mix of seven is considered lucky — but each family and season has its preferred combination. They are slowly cooked in a fragrant broth infused with turmeric and pepper; the result is a beautiful combination of textures, aromas, and flavours.

Ghriyba
No Moroccan gathering is complete without something sweet, so we will finish with this traditional Moroccan sweet, a wonderfully delicate cookie that melts in your mouth, and takes a careful, experienced hand to prepare. It will be served with traditional Moroccan mint tea Atay b Na’na’.

➡Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca

09/01/2026

SAT SEP 19
Arabic Cheesemaking by Rahaf Alakabani

The Middle East has a rich and varied tradition of cheese making reaching back as far as 5000 BC in Mesopotamia. In this fun, hands-on workshop, Rahaf Alakbani will be sharing some of her favourite family cheese recipes. This class will cover the basics of preparing 3 kinds of cheese popular in Syria: yogurt-based Labneh, ricotta-like Kareshi, and a fresh curd cheese known as Jibneh Arabieh. The class will explore recipe ideas, as well a taste of Syrian culture, history and music.

Labneh لبنة‎ is an extremely simple cheese made by salting and straining yogurt until it has the texture of cream cheese. It can be served as spread or dip, or when a bit firmer, rolled in balls and cured in olive oil to extend its shelf life. The cheese balls can also be rolled in various spices like nigella seed, Aleppo pepper, sesame seeds, za’atar, or mint for a very attractive presentation.

Kareshi قريشة is a traditional soft cheese, much like ricotta, made by heating milk and then curdling it with vinegar or lemon juice. The resulting fine curds are delicate, white and prized for their light, creamy texture and sweet milk flavour. In Syria it is sometimes served simply with honey, or in sweets like qatayef or halawi bi jibin, or salted as part of a breakfast or meze.

Jibneh Arabieh (or Jibni) جبنة عربية أو جبن is a tender white cheese popular in Egypt and the Arabian Gulf area (jibneh being the generic Arabic word for ‘cheese’). It can be made from goat’s or sheep’s milk, but nowadays cow’s milk is generally preferred for its more delicate flavour. Soft curds are made with the use of rennet tablets and then drained and pressed. Depending on salt and moisture levels, it can range in texture from a soft farmer’s cheese, to a fresh, melty mozzarella, to a firm, fry-able haloumi. Jibnehs can be served on their own, with pickles, olives and vegetables as a meze; it is also common to find it pan-fried with a sunny side up egg for breakfast, or as an ingredient in sweet pastries such as knafeh.

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➡ Ticket link in bio or thedepanneur.ca!

08/08/2026

THU Aug 6 - Cooking with Fire by Chef Anthony Sestito of Pastaio in Christie Pits Park

An evening celebrating flame, smoke and the simple pleasure of cooking outdoors. Prepared family-style and cooked over wood, coals and open flame, this Italian-inspired menu is a showcase of the ingredients, techniques and flavours we love most — from the wood-fired oven to the open pit.

TO START
Wood-Fired Focaccia - Rosemary, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt

Charred Eggplant Dip - Fire roasted eggplant, tahini, garlic, lemon

Coal Roasted Peppers - Anchovy, capers, parsley, red wine vinegar

Ember Grilled Peaches & Burrata - Basil, pistachio, hot honey

MAINS
Porchetta - Slow roasted pork belly and loin seasoned with rosemary, garlic, fennel pollen and black pepper. Finished in the wood-fired oven until the skin is blistered and crisp, then carved family style.

Cornish Hen Al Mattone - Cornish hens marinated with garlic, lemon and garden herbs, cooked over live fire until deeply golden and smoky.

Salsa Verde - Parsley, capers, anchovy, garlic, olive oil
Charred Lemon - Finished directly over the coals

SIDES
Coal Roasted Fingerling Potatoes - Cooked directly in the embers and finished with confit garlic aioli and parsley.

Charred Corn Salad - Sweet corn roasted over the fire, cut from the cob and tossed with scallions, pecorino and chili butter.

Wood-Fired Wild Mushrooms - Roasted in cast iron with garlic, thyme and sherry.

Wood-Fired Broccoli Rabe - Blistered in cast iron with garlic, Calabrian chili and lemon.

DESSERT
Wood-Fired Ricotta Cheesecake - House-made ricotta cheesecake fired off in the wood oven to caramelize and crisp the edges, finished with with burnt honey and toasted pistachios