Table Talks: Market Conversations
EL UNO & Ecosistema ISO
Spain
Table Talks creates a shared table inside San Isidro Market in Madrid, where neighbours who rarely interact cook, eat and talk together. Each gathering brings together different generations, migrant communities, market traders and new residents. Through food, storytelling and guided conversation, the project turns the market into a civic space for listening, trust and everyday dialogue. In a diverse neighbourhood where communities often live in parallel, the shared table becomes a simple way to reconnect people.
Table Talks is a series of four shared meals taking place inside San Isidro Market in Carabanchel, Madrid. Around a single table, ten participants per session — neighbours of different generations, migrant communities, market traders and new residents — cook, eat and talk together.
Each gathering is led by a local cook who prepares a simple menu using ingredients purchased directly from the market stalls. Participants take part in the preparation, share the meal and continue with a guided conversation during the sobremesa.
The conversation begins through simple prompts: food memories (“who taught you to cook?”), choosing a market ingredient and explaining why it matters, or small true-or-false games about food myths and market culture.
Across the four gatherings, conversations move from personal food stories to collective reflections: what has changed in the neighbourhood, and what small improvements could make the market more welcoming for everyone.
Through flavours and memories, the table becomes a space for listening and exchange. By reconnecting people, the project seeks to strengthen neighbourhood ties while highlighting the social and cultural value of local markets.