Learn a new skill, meet some great people and eat something tasty.
The Depanneur hosted fun, hands-on cooking classes, everything from pickles to pierogis, vegan cheese to whole-animal butchery. These days we are exploring new pop-up workshop opportunities at locations around the GTA.
If you’ve got a culinary skill you’d like to share, find out more about hosting a class at The Dep.
Upcoming Cooking Classes at The Dep
MASTERCLASS: Discovering Wild Foods by Dyson Forbes
CSI Spadina 192 Spadina Ave., Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaWhat does it taste like to live in Ontario? Ontario is abundant with all manner of edible plants, mushrooms, herbs, nuts, fruits and vegetables, if you only know what to look for — and that is exactly what the Forbes family has been doing for decades. Dyson Forbes, following in the footsteps of his father Jonathan, have devoted themselves to making wild foraged native foodstuffs available to a broader Canadian audience through their company, Forbes Wild Foods. For this Masterclass, Dyson will be walking guests through a multi-course tasting session designed to showcase the unique flavours of a wide range of native foods, from teas, berries, and nuts to mushrooms, herbs, and seaweeds. These remarkable ingredients are available in variety of forms, from pickles and jams to powders and teas, making them available year-round. Dyson will speak to some of the overall considerations of Canadian foraging as well as sharing fascinating botanical, historical, nutritional and medicinal details of particular species.
COOKING CLASS: Ethiopian Injera by Asmait Merhatsion
CSI Spadina 192 Spadina Ave., Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaIn this fun, hands-on workshop Asmait Merhatsion will introduce participants to the process of making injera, starting with preparing the batter using a special sourdough starter to kickstart the fermentation that gives it its airy, bubbly texture, and slightly tangy taste. Everyone will get a chance to make their own injera to take home on the mogogo, a traditional round griddle. Participants will also learn how to make shiro, a thick paste of chickpea flour cooked with a blend of spices, ginger, garlic, onion, and tomato. A light meal will be served with fresh injera along with shiro and another vegetarian stew for everyone to share. We will wrap up the class with a traditional Ethiopian coffee and a tasty teff cookie. Participants will leave with a small package of teff and sourdough starter to take home, as well as an opportunity to purchase additional homemade Eritrean products prepare by the chef.
COOKING CLASS: Full-Day Croissants & Viennoiserie Intensive by Leo Baduria
CSI Spadina 192 Spadina Ave., Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaJoin 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.
COOKING CLASS: Full-Day Breadmaking Intensive by Leo Baduria
Café ZuZu 555 Dundas Street East, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaJoin 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.
COOKING CLASS: Intro to Whole Animal Butchery by Chef Taylor Parker
CSI Spadina 192 Spadina Ave., Suite 501, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaBreaking down a whole animal is not only more cost-effective than buying pre-cut parts, but it give you much more control over the resulting cuts, allowing you to optimize them for specific dishes. Join Chef Taylor Parker for an in-depth introduction to whole-animal butchery. This hands-on, day-long workshop will cover the techniques and cuts for three primary types of animal encountered in the kitchen: quadrupeds, fish and fowl.