experience

seasonal dinner experiences: one secret ingredient, a curated dinner menu, & new ways to build community

taste the color of the season with us
experiences

we pick one secret seasonal ingredient (sourced locally) & center an entire menu around it. it’s then revealed to you during the experience. see below the many ways you can join us!

open any of the three to read more.

  • once a month, we host a plated dinner experience at a large community table if space allows. this is where you can meet new friends or reconnect with old ones over a delicious meal.

    • sometimes a private residence, sometimes a unique spot around town: location is revealed the day before.

    • before the first course, the secret ingredient is revealed which adds a surprise to every course throughout the night.

    • a color theme is chosen for the seasonal experience based on that ingredient.

    • dates are released one month before the experience on partiful and promoted on instagram, first come first serve!

      see the dates on partiful

      questions about booking a seat? read the faq.

  • a more relaxed table where we take cale to bars and restaurants and highlight a select few a la carte dishes.

    where are we popping up?

    if you’re a bar or restaurant and want us to bring the cale experience to you, send us a dm on instagram or email.

    questions about hosting us? read the faq.

  • have the whole table to yourselves.

    the question keeps coming, so here is the answer: yes, you can book calé privately. this includes the full secret-ingredient experience, the reveal and all, set privately for your celebration or gathering. we bring the menu; you bring the room and the people!

    to quote your night, we ask for
    1. a tour of your spaceso the night fits the room
    2. your guest counthowever many chairs we are pulling up
    3. a color or ingredientyou pick the theme, the menu follows
    email us for a quote
seasons past
seasons past

seven ingredients. seven full menus. no repeats.

open a season to read its menu.

  1. the yellow dinner menu card

  2. the pumpkin dinner menu card

  3. the burgundy dinner menu card

  4. the green dinner menu card

  5. the calé family dinner menu card

  6. the blush dinner menu card

  7. the orange dinner menu card
what’s next
what’s next

the next table

the rosso dinner

saturday, august 15

sold out

also coming up

smaller-format pop-ups at bars and restaurants around cincinnati and nky

  • casual calé at the pitch

    open to the public

    august 30, 2026

  • casual calé at fifty fifty gin club

    tickets coming soon

    september 27, 2026

  • no. 09

    coming soon

meet calé

two self-taught cooks, and one idea born around the dinner table.

calé was born out of friendship, a longtime passion for cooking, and countless memories around the dinner table with friends and family. caroline and alex, neither classically trained, turned that into a table of their own, and they haven’t stopped cooking since.

each ingredient is sourced close to home, from local farms and gardeners, sometimes straight out of caroline’s father’s garden.

  • cl caroline leach hostess, cook, & owner
  • ad alex driscoll hostess, cook, & owner
“This hidden gem of a pop-up was created by two self-taught chefs.”

cincinnati citybeat · kane mitten · june 2026

read the story
FAQ
faq

questions, answered.

open a question to read the answer.

  • sorry no! each person must individually register when booking goes live. we want everyone to get the opportunity to taste the color of the season with us, so we operate under a first come first serve basis. 1 ticket = 1 seat

  • we will try our best to work with you! please send us a message detailing your allergies when signing up for one of our community events. if in the rare case your allergy is THE seasonal ingredient we will let you know asap, otherwise we will communicate directly and work to tailor the menu for you if we can.

  • it depends! we operate in cincinnati and nky, our community event locations are released 1 day in advance of the date. pop-ups are usually posted publicly with the venue, check our calendar to see what’s coming!

  • send us an email! we will need to be aware of the guest count, location, and date range to get started

  • we love working with the cincinnati and nky community! please send us an email and we would be more than happy to chat further and see how we can bring calé to your bar or space! for private parties, please see the private calé section.

contact us

the next ingredient is still a secret

come sit at the table.

we never announce the menu, and the secret ingredient stays sealed until the night of. we open seats for community calé on partiful and promote them on instagram; follow along to be at the next table.

on instagram @cale_experience follow for the next reveal by email cale.experience for pop-ups & private tables

where we gather

calé pops up across cincinnati and nky. a variety of locations, sometimes a private residence, sometimes a local bar, with the exact spot revealed the day before the event.

a pop-up dining experience with a seasonal secret ingredient at the heart of every menu

hosted, cooked & set by caroline & alex

seven seasons in · made with care, eaten in good company