seasonal dinner experiences: one secret ingredient, a curated dinner menu, & new ways to build community
once a month, we pick one ingredient at the peak of its season and center an entire menu around it, adding a surprise to every course throughout the night.
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one secret ingredient with a color theme to match
the ingredient is picked at the best time of the season, sourced locally, and a color theme is chosen for the experience based on that ingredient.
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building community
we typically host at a large community table if space allows: family style but plated, where you meet new friends or reconnect with old ones over a meal. sometimes a private residence, sometimes a local bar, revealed the day before.
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the reveal
before the first course, the secret ingredient is revealed. every course is prepared to surprise once it is known.
it’s your table: bring your appetite and good company and we will take care of the rest.
seats for community calé go by rsvp on partiful, and we promote them on instagram. when they’re gone, the season closes.
the orange dinner · carrots · july 2026
the orange dinner
season seven, lit in carrot and amber. four courses drawn from a single root, revealed the night of.
seven ingredients. seven full menus. no repeats.
- corn
- pumpkin
- beets
- peas
- mint
- rhubarb
- carrots
have the whole table to yourselves.
the question keeps coming, so here is the answer: yes, you can book calé privately.
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.
email us for a quote- 01 a tour of your spaceso the night fits the room
- 02 your guest counthowever many chairs we are pulling up
- 03 a color or ingredientyou pick the theme, the menu follows
a smaller table, out in the city.
we take calé out to bars and restaurants, in a smaller pop-up format.
the pop-ups already on the calendar live on what’s next.
if you want us to bring the color of the season to you for a pop-up or collaboration, this is the place to start.
email us to bookthe 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
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casual calé at the pitch
open to the public
august 30, 2026
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casual calé at fifty fifty gin club
tickets coming soon
september 27, 2026
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no. 09
coming soon
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 storythe 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.
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