100 Toronto cooks share their recipes in The Depanneur Cookbook

The Depanneur Cookbook: Stories from Canada’s Unlikeliest Restaurant, by Len Senater

The Depanneur was a famous an old corner store in Toronto, that owner Len Senater transformed into a bustling culinary haven. This unique Toronto gathering place was a magnet for chefs and home cooks alike who flocked to ‘The Dep’ to make meals. Over 100 of these chefs and cooks contributed recipes and stories to the new The Depanneur Cookbook: Stories from Canada’s Unlikeliest Restaurant.

Written by Len Slater who ran The Depanneur from 2011 to 2022, the hefty book is part memoir and part cookbook, featuring favourite international recipes from 100 cooks representing more than 80 nationalities, along with beautiful photography by Ksenija Hotic.

Why was it called The Depanneur?

In its heyday, ‘The Dep” became known for its culinary events including casual Drop-In Dinners, family-style Supper Clubs, Cooking Classes and Table Talks. As stated in his book, Senater called his restaurant The Depanneur after “the scrappy little stores in Montreal that sell beer and cigarettes and chips, but sometimes also really good hot dogs and tandoori chicken.”

While renowned chefs would come by The Dep to cook, so too would home cooks, taking the reins at the stove for the night to cook whatever they wanted to cook. The Depanneur became a ‘pop-up’ space where “Interesting Food Things Happen.”

Some of the interesting food concoctions in The Depanneur Cookbook

Interesting ‘food things’ are showcased in The Depanneur Cookbook with recipes like Vietnamese Kraft Dinner created by famed former Toronto restauranteur Greg Couillard. Other must-try recipes include Newfoundland Cod Chowder, Scotch Eggs, Latkes, Walnut Raisin Challah, Zesty Greek Salad, Fasulya (Yemeni Kidney Bean Dip), Paella De Camaron (Spanish Shrimp Paella) and Poulet Basquaise (Basque Country Chicken) and more.

Starts, Sides and Sweets

Chapters include Starts (Soups, Starters, Snacks), Sides, Stars (Veggies, Seafood, Chicken, Pork, Beef, Lamb and Game) and Sweets. There’s also a chapter on The Newcomer Kitchen which Senater ran for a few years as a non-profit organization.

Syrian refugees

In April 2016, upon hearing about a group of Syrian refugees who were housed in a hotel with no way to cook for their family, Senater invited a group of women his kitchen and told them to use his ingredients and cook whatever they wanted.

The Depanneur Cookbook was launched on Kickstarter in November 2020 and reached its original goal of $20,000 in just 18 hours to become the most-funded Canadian cookbook project ever! Five dollars from each pre-ordered book (700 at last count) went towards Kiva microloans to women food entrepreneurs in the developing world.

In his new book, author, entrepreneur and philanthropist Len Senater takes on a whirlwind trip around the globe through recipes and stories that capture the diversity and essence of the Toronto food scene.

The Depanneur Cookbook is available at bookshops everywhere. Written by Len Senater, Photography by Ksenija Hotic. Published by Simon & Schuster. Recipes excerpted with Publisher permission. All rights reserved.

by Laurie Wallace-Lynch

Other articles from totimes.ca – otttimes.ca – mtltimes.ca