Delicatessen

For a Roman, bread was a staple at every meal with some fifty varieties being noted by writers of the period. Breakfast was usually bread dipped in wine or oil with cheese, milk, eggs and olives. Meat was scarce and hardly ever eaten by the poor, who relied more on fish complemented by radishes, pulses, turnips, leaks and porridge. Further up the social ladder, the richer citizens could enjoy a wide range of culinary delights. Spices from as far away as China found their way onto Roman tables and were used to flavour every kind of delicacy from peacocks' brains to stuffed dormice, flamingo tongues and parrot livers. Salads and fruits were widely consumed. Eating was at the heart of Roman social life, with dinner parties being a great way to show off to your friends. However, it became fashionable, not to say sensible, to employ a 'preagustator' or food taster for meals with hosts you were not quite sure about...