On the Eve of Hanukkah, a Shabbos by Alissa Kondogiannis

Name: On the Eve of Hanukkah, a Shabbos by Alissa Kondogiannis
Start: 2025-12-05T06:30:00-05:00
Location: The Depanneur

Schedule

Fri, 05 Dec, 2025 at 06:30 am

UTC-05:00

Location

The Depanneur | Toronto, ON

Hanukkah (aka Chanukah) is a holiday commemorating the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire in the 2nd Century BCE. Also known as the Festival of Lights, it is symbolized by the menorah, an 8-branched candelabra, which is ritually lit each evening of the 8-day holiday to recall the story of the Maccabean rebels trapped in a dark temple who only had enough oil to keep their lamps lit for a day, but whose lamps miraculously stayed lit for 8 days.
Historically a holiday of relatively minor religious significance, it has become more widely seen and celebrated in recent times due to its proximity to Christmas, and perhaps, because of its many delicious foods. Since oil plays a crucial role, fried foods are often consumed, the best known in modern Ashkenazi tradition being the potato latke. Potatoes are a relatively recent, post-Colombian introduction to European cuisine, so ancient versions would have been fritters made from cheese, flour or buckwheat.
Join Alissa Kondogiannis for a warm and delicious Shabbos evening of Hannukah-inspired treats — a delicious mix of traditional and contemporary dishes, European and Middle Eastern flavours, showcasing Alissa’s phenomenal latkes, homemade challah, and classic Greek loukomades.
Alissa will also have frozen bags of her lacy, crispy latkes available for purchase and pickup at the event ($24 per dozen) if you want to take home the magic to share at your own holiday table. Or, check out Alissa's amazing Latkes recipe featured in the award-winning Depanneur Cookbook and make them yourself!
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Challah and Hummus
Many Jewish Friday-night dinners start with fresh challah, a soft, braided egg bread. Alissa leads The Dep’s challah-making classes, and her beautiful loaves are some of the best I’ve ever had. Served with a light, creamy homemade hummus for dipping.
Latke Board
A lavish pile of hot, crispy potato latkes with all the fixings: apple sauce, sour cream, matbucha (a spicy North African tomato & pepper dip), garlicky tzatziki, tangy pickles, pickled red onions, and capers.
Sesame Crusted Salmon
Served drizzled with honey, feta and Calabrian chilies. [Veg option: sesame crusted feta]
Roasted Root Vegetables
Fresh seasonal root veg, roasted until tender and sweet, topped with a date and almond crumble.
Israeli Couscous
A ‘giant’ (bb-sized) cousin of the tiny semolina pasta popular across North Africa, seasoned with chimichurri, a fresh, herbaceous salsa-meets-pesto condiment from Argentina.
Homemade Loukoumades
A Greek Channukah favourite! Golden, just-fried balls of dough drenched in an aromatic honey syrup with a hint of cinnamon.
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Alissa Kondogiannis runs a small catering company North of the Toronto, focusing on Shabbat dinners and Jewish comfort food. She has taught babka and challah classes for years, here at The Depanneur as well as in her Thornhill Community. You can find her online at Barnstar Kitchen. @barnstarkitchen