# ONE TABLE NORTH
## Food, stories and cultural encounters in Northern Norway
One Table North is a new gastronomic and cultural social enterprise being developed in Tromsø.
We create carefully designed experiences in which food becomes a meeting point between people, places and stories.
Our purpose is not simply to organise dinners. We want to build a professional and financially sustainable company capable of producing gastronomic experiences, cultural events, workshops, institutional projects and collaborations with businesses and civil-society organisations.
This crowdfunding campaign will provide One Table North with the operational runway needed to develop its model, build partnerships, explore sustainable revenue streams and prepare the first pilot experience in Tromsø. The initial company founding round is being financed separately.
## WHAT ARE WE BUILDING?
Food creates a particular kind of space.
People who would rarely enter the same room will often sit at the same table. A meal can create proximity before demanding agreement, and a personal story can transform an unfamiliar culture into a human experience.
One Table North combines:
**Gastronomy**
Professionally designed food experiences inspired by territories, migration, identity, memory and adaptation.
**Storytelling**
Short narratives connecting dishes and ingredients with people, places and cultural traditions.
**Encounter**
Tables and events deliberately designed to bring together people who may otherwise remain socially or professionally separated.
**Cultural exchange**
Collaborations connecting producers, cooks, writers, businesses, institutions and communities across countries and cultures.
## AN ARGENTINE–NORWEGIAN CONNECTION
One of the first development lines of One Table North will build a gastronomic and cultural bridge between Argentina and Northern Norway.
Argentina has an exceptionally rich culinary identity shaped by regional diversity, migration, indigenous traditions, European influences, family memory and adaptation.
We want to explore how those traditions can enter into dialogue with the ingredients, landscapes and communities of Northern Norway.
This development line may include:
- Argentine regional cuisine;
- stories about migration, territory and memory;
- collaborations with cooks, cultural professionals and producers;
- encounters between Argentine and Norwegian businesses and institutions;
- combinations of Argentine culinary traditions with Norwegian ingredients;
- professional and cultural activities for the hospitality sector;
- experiences involving Argentine wine when developed through authorised Norwegian partners and in accordance with Norwegian regulations.
Argentine wine is not viewed simply as a commercial product. Every wine begins with a territory, a climate, a community and a story. Within One Table North, food and wine can become part of a wider cultural experience connecting producers and places with a Norwegian audience.
No producer, importer, institution or public organisation should be considered a confirmed partner unless a formal agreement has been established.
## THE FIRST PILOT IN TROMSØ
Our first objective is to develop a carefully designed gastronomic and narrative pilot in Tromsø for approximately 50–70 participants.
The working concept combines:
- a sequence of dishes connected to places and stories;
- cultural and personal narratives;
- structured encounters between participants;
- potential contributions from gastronomic, cultural and business partners;
- documentation and evaluation of the experience.
The pilot may include an Argentine–Norwegian gastronomic component, depending on the partners, venue and funding secured.
The final location, date, menu, participating organisations and production scale have not yet been confirmed. They will be established only after the necessary financial, professional and institutional arrangements are in place.
The pilot will be documented and evaluated. We want to understand:
- the participant experience;
- operational and financial results;
- the value created for partners;
- the quality of the social and cultural encounter;
- what worked;
- what failed;
- what should be changed before the next edition.
The objective is not to reproduce an untested formula.
**Do not scale what you have not yet learned how to correct.**
## WHO IS BEHIND ONE TABLE NORTH?
My name is Andrés Palladino.
I am an Argentine cook and writer living and working in Tromsø.
I have approximately 25 years of experience in professional kitchens, including the organisation and management of kitchen operations in different countries.
Alongside gastronomy, I have studied philosophy and anthropology and developed my work as a writer and independent researcher.
My research focuses on corrigibility: the capacity of individuals, organisations and institutions to recognise problems, learn from experience and change course before mistakes become irreversible.
One Table North brings these different paths together:
**the cook, the storyteller and the researcher of how human systems learn and adapt.**
The project is founder-led, but it is not intended to remain a one-person initiative. Its development will require cooks, producers, cultural professionals, venues, businesses, institutions and community partners.
Their roles will be defined transparently as formal agreements are established.
## A PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
One Table North is being designed as a professional and financially sustainable social enterprise.
Its future revenue may come from:
- commissioned gastronomic and cultural experiences;
- ticketed events;
- corporate and institutional collaborations;
- workshops and educational activities;
- cultural programming;
- hospitality-sector projects;
- consulting and event production;
- eligible grants and sponsorship;
- collaborations with producers and authorised commercial partners.
Commercial sustainability and social purpose are not opposites.
The company must be capable of paying professionals for their work, producing high-quality experiences and creating measurable cultural and social value.
Crowdfunding is being used to provide the operational runway needed to develop One Table North professionally, build partnerships and validate sustainable revenue streams. One Table North is not intended to depend permanently on donations.
## OUR SOCIAL PURPOSE
One Table North is based on a simple conviction:
**People separated by social categories can sometimes begin to understand one another when they share food, time and stories.**
The company may eventually develop projects involving migration, cultural diversity, social inclusion, intergenerational encounters and communities affected by exclusion or displacement.
Each project will be developed with the appropriate partners, responsibilities and safeguards.
This campaign raises funds exclusively for the development of One Table North. It does not collect money on behalf of any external organisation.
Any future charitable or humanitarian collaboration will require a separate formal agreement and clearly separated financial arrangements.
## WHAT WILL THE MONEY BE USED FOR?
The NOK 175,000 crowdfunding target is intended to provide One Table North with the operational runway required to develop the project professionally.
The funds will be allocated approximately as follows:
**30% — Project management and development**
Operational capacity required to develop One Table North and coordinate its activities.
**20% — Partnerships, meetings and mobility**
Meetings and development work with potential partners, producers, venues, institutions and collaborators.
**15% — Research and commercial development**
Development and validation of future revenue-generating activities and programmes.
**15% — Communication and fundraising**
Professional communication, outreach, campaign materials and development of future funding relationships.
**10% — Pilot design and pre-production**
Research, concept development, documentation and preparation of the first Tromsø pilot.
**10% — Contingency and financial reserve**
A prudent reserve for unforeseen costs and any tax or accounting obligations identified during the process.
**The initial company founding round of approximately NOK 80,000 is being raised separately and is not part of this crowdfunding target.**
**The full production budget for the first One Table North pilot will also be financed separately.**
## WHY IS THE SPLEIS TARGET NOK 175,000?
The NOK 175,000 target is designed to provide sufficient operational runway to develop One Table North beyond its initial company formation.
It gives the project the capacity to build partnerships, conduct research, develop sustainable revenue opportunities, communicate professionally and prepare the first pilot without forcing the company to rush prematurely into production.
Platform and payment costs will be covered from the campaign proceeds, and an appropriate reserve will be maintained until the tax treatment of the funds has been clarified with the Norwegian Tax Administration and, where necessary, a qualified accountant.
If the required reserve is lower than anticipated, the remaining funds will continue to be used for the professional development of One Table North.
If the campaign raises less than NOK 175,000, available funds will be used in the following order of priority:
1. Essential administration and professional project development.
2. Partnership and revenue development.
3. Communication and fundraising.
4. Research and development of the operating model.
5. Design and pre-production of the first pilot.
The scale and timing of these activities will be adjusted to the funding actually secured.
## FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Campaign funds will be recorded separately from unrelated personal expenditure.
Relevant payments, decisions and supporting documentation will be retained so the use of the money can be accounted for.
The funds may initially be received by me as the campaign organiser because One Table North AS has not yet been incorporated.
Once the company has been legally established and the necessary financial arrangements are in place, the funds intended for company activities will be handled through the appropriate business structure.
No percentage of this campaign has been promised to another organisation.
Any funds later collected for a charitable or humanitarian purpose will be raised, documented and managed separately under a specific agreement.
## WHY SUPPORT ONE TABLE NORTH NOW?
Your contribution will help transform a developed idea into a real and professionally organised enterprise.
It will allow us to:
- develop the company’s professional operating capacity;
- obtain the necessary legal and accounting clarification;
- develop the Argentine–Norwegian gastronomic and cultural programme;
- meet potential producers, importers, venues and institutional partners;
- prepare the first Tromsø pilot professionally;
- document and evaluate what we learn;
- build a sustainable model capable of continuing beyond this crowdfunding campaign.
The first objective is not simply to finance one dinner.
It is to create the structure capable of producing many experiences, building long-term partnerships and connecting people and cultures through food and stories.
## HOW ELSE CAN YOU HELP?
If you are unable to contribute financially, you can still help by:
- sharing this campaign;
- introducing us to relevant businesses, foundations or organisations;
- connecting us with Argentine producers and Norwegian importers;
- connecting us with hotels, restaurants, venues, cooks and cultural professionals;
- offering professional advice, services or practical collaboration;
- helping us reach people interested in gastronomy, migration, culture and social enterprise.
One relevant introduction can be as valuable as a financial contribution.
## WATCH THE PRESENTATION VIDEO
One Table North began under the working name Kitchen Without Borders. The name has evolved, but the central purpose remains the same: using food, storytelling and shared experiences to create meaningful encounters.
Watch the founder’s presentation here:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eZYBlIdq-P0
## INTERESTED IN COLLABORATING?
We are currently speaking with potential:
- founding partners;
- Argentine producers;
- authorised Norwegian importers;
- hotels and restaurants;
- cultural and institutional partners;
- venues;
- sponsors;
- professional collaborators;
- early-stage supporters.
Please contact:
**Andrés Palladino**
Founder — One Table North
Tromsø, Norway
**contacto@andrespalladino.com**
Website:
https://andrespalladino.com/one-table-north
Campaign:
https://www.spleis.no/project/513884
Thank you for helping us bring the first One Table North experience to life in Tromsø.
**One table. Many stories. Two countries beginning a conversation.**
