Fond, the Crescent Hill local grocer-cum-restaurant (or is it a restaurant-cum-local grocery?) at 2520 Frankfort Ave., is offering monthly special dinners which will benefit Dare to Care, the non-profit that partners with over 300 local social service agencies such as food pantries, shelters and emergency kitchens to distribute food to those in the Louisville area that are food-insecure.

On the last Sunday of each month, chef/owner of Fond, Madeleine Dee, will prepare a 5-course dinner with a food theme related to “a beloved work of literature or the silver screen,” as Dee puts it.

On January 29, the theme of the dinner will be Harry Potter.  Some of the dishes she has planned (which are pictured above, clockwise from top left) are Toad in a Hole with bacon, Rock (shrimp) cakes,  sticky toffee pudding with butterbeer ice cream and shepherd’s pie. With such a menu, diners will need a palate cleanser of” acid pops” as well. 

Her February 26 dinner will celebrate the novel and movie “Chocolat” with a French menu that will start with goat cheese and roasted apples on a toasted baguette, followed by seared scallops and truffle soup. Courses of coq au vin and duck breast in mushroom pastries (canard avec vol-au-vent aux trois champignons) will be followed by a dessert of, of course, chocolate: “Le Bête Noir,” a bittersweet chocolate truffle cake with salted caramel ice cream and gold leaf, followed by chocolat chaud maya avec trois bonbons, a spicy hot chocolate with three rich bonbons.

Her March 26 dinner will be related to Kipling’s novel “The Jungle Book,” and will feature upscale Indian cuisine.

Dee is charging her standard $75 per person for these dinners, and will be donating a portion of her proceeds to Dare to Care, which fights hunger through programs targeting the most vulnerable in the Louisville  community. These programs include Kids Cafe, Backpack Buddy, Mobile Pantry, Cooking Matters, and a variety of targeted initiatives to reach senior citizens.

The dinners are limited to 12 seats each evening, and will cost $75. Beverages beyond water are provided by diners BYOB style. 

Call or text (502) 727-3631 or email fondlouisville@gmail.com or book through Fond’s Facebook page.