The Peña Brothers’ fruit stall, Vallehermoso Market

Jose María Peña is lord and master of one of the 2 fruit stalls in the market. You don’t need to spend much time there before being overwhelmed by a whirlwind of shapes and colors. The fruit arrives daily from all over Spain, although he imports his pineapples from Costa Rica by plane, meaning that you can be eating them 2 days after they have been picked. And of course, where there’s fruit there are also vegetables, and they too are delivered fresh every day. His greatest treasure are green beans from Zafarraya (Granada) which are “the best ones in existence.” You don’t need to remove the string and their flavor is finer and smoother than any other. You can also buy fresh herbs, pulses, dried fruits, spices, and products for oriental cookery such as cabbage, Chinese onion, or pak choi.

A feature of Madrid’s Chamberí neighborhood since 1933, the Vallehermoso Market’s raison d’etre is the same as when it first opened its doors to the public: selling quality products. However, today it does so under a new business model in which customers can not only shop there, but also go out for tapas, lunch, or dinner at one of its many catering outlets.