Workshops

The class will focus on stuffed cookies: what to put in them, how to create the fillings, and how to seal and bake them properly. You will learn the secrets of a really good cookie, ingredients and how they affect texture and flavour, and the signs of a perfectly baked cookie. Participants will make two types of dough: Chocolate Chip and Soft Sugar Cookie Dough, and then choose from a mouth-watering array of fillings like Lemon Curd, Brownie, Nutella, Peanut Butter, Cheesecake, Caramel, Pecan Pie andChocolate Ganache, as well as decorating techniques like sprinkle toppings and line glazes, to create their own unique cookie masterpieces.

Mexico has its tacos, and Central America loves its pupusas, but in Venezuela and Colombia, it is all about the arepa. Although modern Colombians and Venezuelans eat arepas daily, they enjoy them somewhat differently; Colombians like them thinner and a bit sweeter, commonly made with only cheese or egg, whereas in Venezuela arepas are split open and piled high with a huge range of different fillings. In this workshop, we celebrate the Venezuelan arepa and two of its classic fillings: Pabellon and Reina Pepiada.

Challah — a golden, egg-enriched bread that is often braided, and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat or Jewish holidays — has adorned tables since biblical days. It is an easy, forgiving bread to make; a versatile yeasted dough that can be made sweet or savoury. Ideal for French toast and bread pudding, challah is also the perfect bread with dips like hummus, to mop up soups and stews or just to eat hot and tender, straight out of the oven. In this class, participants will learn how to make a quick, simple, and forgiving yeasted dough and the art braiding bread. Each participant will will make and braid their own challah to take home with them. In addition, there will be demo of shwarma-spiced roasted cauliflower and an easy to make hummus to be a shared as a light lunch with your oven-fresh challah. 

Join artisanal baker Leo Baduria for a full-day, in-depth exploration of the fundamentals of Viennoiserie, the magical butter-laminated pastry that is at the heart of croissants and many other classic European pastries from France to Denmark. Creating croissants from scratch is a somewhat complex, multi-day process, but Leo has expertly constructed a full-day workshop that will cover the all the steps so that you can begin making them at home. You’ll learn how to make your own brioche dough, and the processes of mixing, kneading, rolling, rising, laminating and shaping required to make Croissants, Pain au chocolat, Pain aux raisins, Kouign aman, Chaussons aux pommes, Palmiers and Brioches.

Join Iván Wadgymar of Maizal for a fun, hands-on exploration of 2 quintessential Dia de los Muertos foods: savoury meat and vegetarian tamales and sweet pan de muertos. As a local grower, miller and processor of artisanal Mexican corn, beans and chiles Iván connection to Mexican culinary traditions runs much deeper than most. More than just recipes and techniques, you will learn about the roots of the ingredients and traditions in Mexican and cuisine — literally what puts the culture in agriculture.

Food is one of the fundamental connectors between us and this big, beautiful planet we live on, but it can also be one of the greatest contributors to the degradation of the environment. From food waste, to plastic packaging and animal agriculture, what we eat each day can really have an impact for better or worse on our precious planet. Conscious Cass will share with you a slew of tips, trick and recipes for eating in more eco-friendly ways. You'll get to put all these ideas into practise by the cooking and sharing a plant-based communal meal made with an emphasis on eco-friendly, low-waste ingredients.

Maria Polotan probably did more to transform my appreciation of Filipino food than anyone. Prior to starting The Dep, I hadn’t really had much experience with this cuisine. But that all changed when Maria brought these amazing flavours to Mama Linda’s — her 2020 Brunch residency at The Dep, and then to Lami, her East end brunch pop-up. All I can say is if you have not had the chance to try silog, the classic Filipino brunch of garlic fried rice with a fried duck egg, topped with Maria's homemade savoury-sweet, Pinoy-style bacon, sausage or hash, you want to get on that ASAP. To help make that happen, I'm delighted to bring Maria's fabulous brunch to the new Depanneur at CSI for one day only, with three 90 minute family-style seatings.

Maria Polotan probably did more to transform my appreciation of Filipino food than anyone. Prior to starting The Dep, I hadn’t really had much experience with this cuisine. But that all changed when Maria brought these amazing flavours to Mama Linda’s — her 2020 Brunch residency at The Dep, and then to Lami, her East end brunch pop-up. All I can say is if you have not had the chance to try silog, the classic Filipino brunch of garlic fried rice with a fried duck egg, topped with Maria's homemade savoury-sweet, Pinoy-style bacon, sausage or hash, you want to get on that ASAP. To help make that happen, I'm delighted to bring Maria's fabulous brunch to the new Depanneur at CSI for one day only, with three 90 minute family-style seatings.

Join artisanal baker Leo Baduria for a full-day, in-depth exploration of the fundamentals of great bread. You’ll learn how to make your own sourdough starter, and how to prepare different types of dough, using various grains and flours. There will be hands-on practice of the techniques to folding, kneading and shaping dough to make focaccia/fougasse, baguettes, boules, batards and brioches, including challah braids.

Just in time for the holiday season, this fun, hands-on workshop cover two different kind of festive holiday biscotti, the crunchy, twice-baked Italian cookie that has become an ever-popular café staple the world over. Let 20-year cookie biz veteran Alan Zelcovitch walk you through the process of creating colourful Vanilla Funfetti and decadent Chocolate Candy Cane biscotti. You'll enjoy freshly-baked cookies in class and leave with recipes and ready-to-bake cookie dough to share with your friends & family. (Or not 😉).