Our knowledge about ancient Greek and Roman culinary culture comes from the results of archaeological research, as well as literary works, which includes stories about the receptions. Among the most attractive there were symposia, nocturnal meetings with discussions, and shows presenting the participants’ wisdom and culture, especially when boosted by wine. Sometimes in the works describing such a feast as in Plato’s (427 BC - 347 BC) Symposium, meal was only mentioned. These sources supported by the iconography give a picture of ancient Mediterranean culinary cultures.

Until the 5th century BC the Greeks ate frugally and simply. Diet of the Greeks who lived before the time of Pericles was based mainly on cereals made of barley mash. They drank kykeon, beverage composed of wine with spices. Wine and olive oil have been a staple in the ancient Greek kitchen. They ate also fish, and quite seldom meat (Węcowski, Kuchnia).

In the 4th century BC, according to some researchers (Burckhardt, 2011). appeared a series of cookbooks, in a form of poetry and literary texts. However only some fragments survived to our dates. Among them there are traces of a poem Works and Days by Hesiod (ca. 750 to 650 BC), where he describes every possible edible products and gives astrological rules. Excerpts of his poetry, presenting the culinary art, survived as citation in the Athenaios’ (2nd and 3rd century AD) literary work Deiphnosophistae. Also the Sicilian Archestratos (IV BC) in his poem Hedypatheia gives an overview of the best culinary courses in the Mediterranean world (Dalby, 2003, p. 24, passim).

Greek dramatist Epicharm (c. 540 BC - approx. 450 BC) was known for its extensive culinary reports. We learn from him that sacrifices in ancient Greece were followed by subsequent consumption of these gifts by their donators. Most of the meal-offering was meat, and after eating heavily, benefactors went to the night feast, at which a lot of wine was drunk, with only snacks such as eggs, fruits, savoury and sweet cakes and dried fruit. Each of the participants drank during the night feast approx. 3 litres of wine mixed with water. Symposia aims were rather intellectual and cultural performance in oppositions to the rulers’ feasts were food consumption played the main role (Węcowski, 2011 s. 397, 401, 409).

The profession of cook is known in Greece since the 5th century, and his role in the community was very significant. Earlier the carver, or someone who shared the meat of the animal, was more important. Profession of nutritionist emerges at the same time (Węcowski, Kuchnia).

The oldest European cookery book was probably The Art of Cooking by Mithekos of Syracuse from the 5th century BC. Unfortunately, it did not survive to our times. However, this book survived partly in citations. In the 2nd century BC Athenaeus wrote a treatise about eating, citing Mithekos’ recipe for the fish ‘ribbon’ known in Sicily in the early 5th century BC (Dalby, 1996 p. 110). Deipnosophistae (known also as The Gastronomers) by Athenaeus was written in a form of dialogues. The author describes an imaginary banquet with the participation of well-known figures. The major topics of discussions are food and wine, luxury, music, sexual mores, literary gossip and philology.

Roman cuisine was initially poor and – according to malignant opinions – before the discovery of the Greek cuisine in the 3rd century BC, it was limited to a porridge. Later, Roman cuisine based on the Greek recipes, was reinforced by a large amount of expensive spices that did not always favourably affect the taste of food (Dolby, 1996, p. 15).

The oldest true cookbook is considered De re coquinaria (On the Subject of Cooking), a work from the time of Augustus and Tiberius, containing approx. 450 recipes. It’s author Marcus Gavius was known as Apicius (1st century AD).

The book survived to our times as a compilation of several sources from the 4th century. The oldest manuscript, written on a parchment from approx. 900 AD, comes from the monastery of Fulda, and was purchased in 1929 by the New York Academy of Medicine.

The book consists of ten chapters.

1. Epimeles — The Careful Housekeeper
2. Sarcoptes — The Meat Mincer
3. Cepuros — The Gardener
4. Pandecter — Many Ingredients
5. Ospreon — Pulse
6. Aeropetes — Birds
7. Polyteles — The Gourmet
8. Tetrapus — The Quadruped
9. Thalassa — The Sea
10. Halieus — The Fisherman

In 2009 Apicius’ book was included to the Gutenberg project, where one can find its English translation, examining many of its numerous editions. To the Apicius work refer all culinary historians as this book was an inspiration for many generations of chefs in many countries.

Successively, the Romans have been introducing more and more sophisticated dishes and even outdo the world record of lavishness at feasts. Better known, however, are descriptions of meals consumed than recipes. The Petronius’ (27-66) Satyricon with a paragraph of Trimalchio’s dinner stands out among the tales:

“Among the objects placed before us was a young ass made of Corinthian bronze and fitted with a sort of pack-saddle which contained on one side pale green olives and on the other side dark ones. Two dishes flanked this; and on the margin of them Trimalchio’s name was engraved and the weight of the silver. Then there were little bridge-like structures of iron which held dormice seasoned with honey and poppy seed; and smoking sausages were arranged on a silver grill which had underneath it dark Syrian plums to represent black coals.” (Petronius, 1898, lines 67.)

There were more surprises in the meal served like sausages of various kinds coming tumbling out of the cut pig (Petronius, 120), or even small alive birds “A slave rips up the boar with a knife, and a number of little birds fly out into the room (Petronius, 1898, lines 65).

The size and serving style was shocking, and worth citation:

We were still complimenting him on his philosophy, when a course was served whose peculiarity attracted every one’s attention; for the double tray in which it was set had the twelve signs of the Zodiac arranged in a circle and over each sign the chief butler had arranged some kind of food that was appropriate to it, — over the Ram, some chick-peas with tendrils that curled like a ram’s horns; over the Bull, a bit of beef; over the Twins, a pair of lamb’s fries and kidneys; over the Crab, a garland; over the Lion, an African fig; over the Virgin, a sow’s paunch; over the Balance, a pair of scales on one of which was placed a tart and on the other a cake; over the Scorpion, a crab; over Aquarius, a goose; over the Fish, two mullets. In the middle was a piece of fresh turf supporting a honeycomb. An Egyptian slave passed us some bread in a silver bread-plate, while Trimalchio croaked out a popular song from the musical farce called the Garlic Eater. (Petronius, 1898, lines 87.)

Pomp and variety of ancient Roman cuisine is widely described, including the works of historians like Pliny in Naturalis historia or Tacitus (ca. 55-120) in the Acts (Historiae) and Annals (Annales – ab excessu divi Augusti).

Legends of the lavishness also take up journalists in their research on culinary history, coming up with such revelations as peas decorated with gold, onyx adoptive lentils, beans surrounded by lumps of amber at the table of the Roman emperor Heliogabalus (3rd century AD) who loved beautiful and sublime food. Fish had given in blue sauce, which had a light colour to resemble the sea. On the other hand Vitelius, the ruler of the century, invented the “shield of Minerva”, dish with livers of sea perch fish and lamprey and spleen arranged next to a pheasant and peacock brains, with flemings’ tongues (Piotrowska 2005).