Terms of service

The Dishlore Kitchen

Dishlore is a family kitchen before it is a food business.

All food is prepared by a certified food handler in accordance with Ontario food safety standards. Proper food handling, storage, preparation, and sanitation practices are followed every step of the way so you can enjoy your meal with complete peace of mind.

We cook in small batches, using the recipes, ingredients and methods we use to feed our own family. Our rule is simple: we won't feed you what we wouldn't eat ourselves.

That also means our food is not made on an industrial production line. A qorma may be a little thicker one day. A biryani may carry a little more heat the next. Lemons are not equally sour, chilies are not equally hot, and every cut of meat behaves a little differently in the pot. What won't change is the aroma, the flavours and the authenticity.

Also, we wouldn't touch a pre-packaged, off-the-shelf masala box (Shan/Mehran) with a ten-foot pole. If that's the flavour you're after, save your money and DIY. We make our own spice blends because bang-average food isn't what we're here to cook.

That's part of home cooking.

By placing an order with Dishlore, you understand that our food is freshly prepared, perishable, and made in a working kitchen where many different ingredients are handled. Because we cook in small batches rather than operating as a bulk food service, our ingredients are fresh and our food is prepared and handled much like it would be in a family kitchen.

Please tell us about any allergies or dietary restrictions when placing your order. We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate them and may call you to make sure we understand exactly what you need. However, because many different ingredients and allergens are handled in our kitchen, we cannot guarantee an allergen-free environment or guarantee against cross-contact.

You also accept certain responsibilities of your own, particularly when it comes to dietary restrictions, storage, reheating and the handling of your food once it leaves our care. This is no different from asking your favourite aunt to make her speciality or sitting down for dinner at your in-laws. We'll do our part in the kitchen, and we ask you to do yours once the food leaves it.

These terms explain where our responsibility ends and yours begins.

Terms & Conditions

1. Agreeing to These Terms

By placing an order with Dishlore through our website, or otherwise purchasing food or catering services from us, you confirm that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms & Conditions.

If you are placing an order for other people, it is your responsibility to make them aware of any relevant ingredient, allergen, storage and reheating information.

1. Small-Batch Cooking & Natural Variation

Dishlore food is prepared in small batches using fresh ingredients and traditional cooking methods. We do not aim for factory-level uniformity, nor do we want to.

Natural variations can occur from one batch to another. This may include differences in colour, consistency, tenderness, spice level, sweetness, sourness, oil separation, appearance and other characteristics of the finished dish.

These reasonable variations are part of small-batch cooking and are not considered defects.

Photographs and descriptions on our website are intended to give you a fair representation of our food. Your order may not look exactly like a photograph.

1. Ingredients, Allergies & Dietary Restrictions

Our kitchen handles a wide variety of ingredients, including common allergens such as milk, wheat, gluten, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and other ingredients capable of causing allergic reactions or sensitivities.

If you or anyone consuming your order has an allergy, intolerance or dietary restriction, you must tell us clearly when placing your order.

We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate requests that we have agreed to accommodate. However, our kitchen is not an allergen-free facility. Ingredients, utensils, cookware, preparation surfaces, storage areas and equipment may be shared.

For this reason, we cannot guarantee that any item is completely free from a particular allergen or that cross-contact has not occurred.

If you have a severe or life-threatening allergy, please contact us before ordering so that you can make an informed decision about whether our food is appropriate for you.

Dishlore cannot be responsible for an allergy, intolerance or dietary restriction that was not disclosed to us before preparation of the order.

1. Ingredient Changes & Availability

Fresh ingredients do not always behave according to schedule. Neither do suppliers.

From time to time, an ingredient may be unavailable, unsuitable, out of season or different from what we normally purchase.

We may make reasonable substitutions where doing so does not materially change the nature of the dish. We will make reasonable efforts to contact you before making a significant substitution, particularly where it could affect a dietary restriction or allergen that you have disclosed to us.

Menu items are subject to availability.

1. Spice Levels & Individual Preferences

Terms such as mild, medium, spicy, rich, sweet and tangy are subjective.

We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate spice preferences where a dish allows it, but we cannot guarantee that your idea of "medium" is exactly the same as ours.

Some traditional dishes also rely on particular ingredients, spices or preparation methods for their character. We may decline a modification if we believe it would fundamentally change the dish.

1. Food Handling After Pickup or Delivery

Our responsibility for the physical handling and storage of your food ends when the order has been picked up by you or your representative, or successfully delivered to you or the location you specified.

From that point onward, you are responsible for keeping the food at appropriate temperatures and protecting it from contamination, improper handling or prolonged exposure to room temperature.

This includes food left in vehicles, on counters, at parties, on buffet tables, outdoors or anywhere else where we no longer control its temperature or handling.

Dishlore cannot be responsible for deterioration, contamination or illness resulting from improper transportation, storage, handling or reheating after the food leaves our care.

1. Refrigeration, Storage & Reheating

Dishlore food is freshly prepared and perishable.

You are responsible for refrigerating or freezing food promptly when appropriate and for following any storage or reheating instructions provided with your order.

Food should be reheated thoroughly and handled according to appropriate food-safety practices.

Once food has been served, reheated, left at room temperature, stored by the customer or otherwise removed from our control, Dishlore cannot verify how it was handled afterward.

When in doubt about the safety of food that has been improperly stored or left out for an extended period, do not eat it.

1. Individual Reactions to Food

People react differently to ingredients, spices, richness, oils, dairy, gluten and other foods.

The fact that someone experiences discomfort, digestive upset, an allergic response or another reaction after eating does not, by itself, establish that Dishlore food caused that reaction.

If you believe there is a genuine food-safety issue with an order, please contact us as soon as possible and provide the details we reasonably require to investigate the matter.

Where possible, please retain the affected food in appropriate refrigerated or frozen storage rather than discarding it immediately. This may help us investigate what happened.

1. Halal Food

Your food is 100% Halal and made exclusively with hand-slaughtered meat.

We keep our meat sourcing simple and transparent. Our chicken comes from Sargent Farms, and our veal and beef come from Shaan Foods.

These are our single sources for chicken, veal and beef. We do not substitute meat from other suppliers without updating this commitment.

If you have any questions about our Halal standards, sourcing or preparation, please contact us before placing your order.

1. Ordering & Preparation Times

Dishlore cooks to order and in small batches. We therefore require advance notice.

Preparation times displayed on our website form part of the conditions of your order. Some regular menu items may require at least 24 hours' notice, while Specialty items may require at least three days because of marination, soaking, slow cooking or other preparation involved.

Submitting an order does not automatically guarantee that we can accommodate every requested date, quantity or modification.

If we cannot fulfil an order as requested, we will contact you and, where appropriate, offer an alternative date, modification, credit or refund.

1. Order Accuracy

You are responsible for checking your order details before submitting payment, including the items ordered, quantities, pickup or delivery details, date, time, dietary information and any special instructions.

Please check your order when you receive it.

If something is missing or materially different from what you ordered, contact us as soon as reasonably possible so that we have an opportunity to address it.

We may request photographs or other information where necessary to understand the issue.

1. Changes & Cancellations

Because Dishlore purchases ingredients and prepares food specifically for confirmed orders, changes and cancellations are subject to how far preparation has progressed.

We will make reasonable efforts to accommodate changes requested with sufficient notice.

Once ingredients have been purchased specifically for your order, preparation has begun, or the applicable preparation window has passed, we may be unable to change or cancel the order.

Specialty and catering orders may have separate cancellation requirements communicated at the time of ordering.

1. Refunds

Because our products are freshly prepared and perishable, all food sales are generally final once the order has been prepared.

We do not provide refunds simply because a customer dislikes a traditional dish, finds it hotter, milder, richer or otherwise different from their personal preference, or because of reasonable variations associated with small-batch cooking.

If we make a significant error with your order, fail to provide an item you paid for, or determine that there is a genuine quality issue for which Dishlore is responsible, we may, depending on the circumstances, replace the affected item, provide a credit, issue a partial refund or issue a full refund.

Nothing in these Terms limits any rights or remedies that cannot legally be excluded under applicable law.

1. Pickup & Delivery

Pickup and delivery times are estimates unless we specifically agree otherwise.

Cooking does not always obey the clock, and circumstances such as unusually large orders, traffic, weather, equipment issues or other events outside our reasonable control can cause delays.

We will make reasonable efforts to keep you informed of significant delays.

For delivery orders, you are responsible for providing a complete and accurate address and ensuring that someone is available to receive the order at the agreed location and time.

We are not responsible for delays or failed deliveries caused by incorrect information, inaccessible premises, an unavailable recipient or circumstances outside our reasonable control.

1. Catering & Large Orders

Large and catering orders may require additional notice, deposits, minimum quantities or other arrangements.

Any specific terms agreed upon for a catering order, including quantities, service date, payment schedule, cancellation terms or other requirements, form part of your agreement with Dishlore.

Once ingredients have been purchased or preparation has begun for a large or catering order, some or all payments may become non-refundable, subject to applicable law and any specific terms agreed upon when the order was confirmed.

1. Bones, Seeds, Whole Spices & Other Natural Ingredients

Traditional cooking sometimes involves bones, whole spices, seeds and other ingredients that may remain in the finished dish.

Although we take reasonable care during preparation, dishes containing meat or fish may occasionally contain small bones or bone fragments, and dishes prepared with whole spices may contain items such as cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, cinnamon or other whole ingredients.

Please eat accordingly and supervise young children where appropriate.

1. Availability & Our Right to Refuse an Order

We reserve the right to limit quantities, decline modifications, refuse an order or cancel an order where we reasonably cannot fulfil it safely or to the standard we expect.

This may include ingredient shortages, insufficient preparation time, unusually large quantities, allergy requests that we do not believe we can safely accommodate, equipment problems or other circumstances that make fulfilling the order impractical.

If we cancel an order that you have already paid for and no food or service has been supplied, we will refund the applicable amount.

1. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Dishlore will not be responsible for indirect, incidental, consequential or special losses arising from an order or the consumption, storage, transportation, reheating or handling of food after it has left our control.

Where Dishlore is legally responsible for a direct loss relating to an order, our liability will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be limited to the amount paid for the portion of the order giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited, or removes rights provided to you under applicable consumer protection law.

1. Circumstances Beyond Our Control

Sometimes things happen that neither you nor we can reasonably control.

Dishlore will not be responsible for a failure or delay caused by circumstances outside our reasonable control, including severe weather, power outages, equipment failures, supplier disruptions, road closures, emergencies or similar events.

If such an event prevents us from fulfilling your order, we will make reasonable efforts to contact you and determine an appropriate solution.

1. Governing Law

These Terms & Conditions are governed by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the applicable laws of Canada.

Any dispute relating to an order or these Terms will be dealt with in accordance with those laws.

1. Severability

If any part of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or removed only to the extent necessary.

The remaining Terms will continue to apply.

1. Changes to These Terms

Dishlore may update these Terms & Conditions from time to time.

The Terms in effect when you place your order will apply to that order. The current version will be available on our website.

1. Talk to Us

We're a small family kitchen. If something genuinely isn't right, tell us.

Give us the opportunity to understand what happened and, where appropriate, make it right.

We ask only that you do the same thing we promise to do with you: be reasonable.

Your Agreement

By placing an order on Dishlore's website, you confirm that you have read and agree to these Terms & Conditions, including the provisions concerning allergens, dietary restrictions, food handling, storage, reheating, cancellations, refunds and limitation of liability.