The Rotten Romans

The Rotten Romans
Roman daily life Roman food
What people ate, and where
people ate, in the Roman
Empire normally depended
upon how rich they were.
The poor did not have kitchens
and could not do any cooking. If
they could afford it, they bought
hot food from one of the many
bars in the streets. They
normally ate bread, porridge,
beans, lentils and a little meat.
Many poor Romans depended
on handouts to survive.
Rich Romans were much more lucky. For them eating was part of a dayʼs activity. Meals would start
at 3:00 pm and go on for several hours. There would be many courses and entertainment for the
people to watch whilst they were eating.
During their feasts, rich Romans would eat with their fingers and slaves would then wipe their hands
for them between courses! They also liked to eat lying on couches. During such feasts the guests
could eat so much that they had to be sick; a special room was set aside for them called a
vomitorium. They would then go back to the dining room to continue eating!
The Romans were very clever and used spices and sauces to cover up the taste of fish and meat that
had gone off. One sauce was called liquamen. It was made from rotten fish, salt and herbs and took
up to 3 months to make!
Normally the Romans ate the kind of food we eat today, like bread, porridge, fish and sausages. They
also liked to eat dates, fruit and honey cake.
However, they did eat some more unusual food at the banquets. A favourite dish in Roman times was
dormice. They were considered a delicacy and kept in cages until they were fat enough to eat!
Other dishes eaten by the
Romans included; snails,
jackdaws, crows, peacocks,
animal brains and the lungs
of sheep and goats, horses,
nettles and dandelions!
At one meal, Heliogabalus
served his guests with 600
hundred ostrich brains!
Read the menu on the
following page to find out
about more delicious treats!
The Rotten Romans
Roman daily life Roman food
This is an example of a typical menu for a banquet
of a wealthy person in Roman times. Doesnʼt it
sound scrumptious?!
Sta!er
and eggs
chins)
Jellyfish
d sea ur
ith salte
w
gs)
d
e
ff
k and eg
ders (stu
with mil
d
e
Cows ud
uce)
k
a
sa
(b
t
fish fa
brains
f
d
o
e
r
a
e
n
p
p
ti
Pa
(with pe
honey)
ee fungi
ices and
sp
h
Boiled tr
it
(w
ins
Sea urch
#rse
Fir" C
gs)
mouse le
t an dor
r
o
p
h
it
w
(stuffed
s eggs
Dormice
Peacock
d lettuce
ragus an
a
sp
a
s,
n
Bea
C#rse
Second
on
with lem
y seeds)
Sea fish
ith popp
w
d
le
k
in
ey spr
r
s (in hon
wild boa
Thrushe
roasted
o
s
g
in
Slice of
m
la
t and F
o
r
r
a
p
Roast
$ird
C#rse
s
ay leave
gs and b
fi
ck
h
it
st
w
iled
h fish o
Ham bo
soned wit
a
se
n
)
o
e
sauc
nd Salm
a sweet
Turbot a
d raisins)
ich (with
r
st
c
O
u
d
e
sa e an
n
Boil
io
n
o
ed with
eer (roast
Fallow d
Desse!
y)
ith pastr
)
Roses (w
f
o
e kernels
e
in
e
p
ss
Frica
uts and
n
h
it
w
ffed
es
ates (stu
wine cak
Stoned d
n sweeta
ic
fr
A
Hot
BANQUET!
His Excellency Ju
lius Maximus re
quests
the pleasure of yo
ur company at hi
s
birthday banque
t.
It is to be held on
23 November, A
D 201
in the dining cham
ber of his villa on
the
outskirts of Rome.
The feast will be
gin at 3:00pm an
d will
last until everyone
can eat no more!
There will be Gla
diators, Jugglers
,
Dancing and Sing
ing for your
entertainment.
Please help our se
rvants by providin
g us
with your ideal R
oman menu. You
sh
ould
include a Gustati
o (starter), a Prim
ae
Mensala (main co
urse) and a Secu
n
dae
Mensala (dessert
).
We look forward
to seeing you ther
e!
Tasks
1. Why did the Romans only have one meal a
day?
2. What did poor people eat?
3. Imagine you are a rich person. Give your
choice of three dishes from the menu above.
4. Is there any food that you would not eat from
the menu above? Explain your answer.
5. You have been invited to the banquet of Julius
Maximus! See the invitation above! Design a
menu to send to the servants of Julius
Maximus showing all your favourite Roman
foods. Remember it is a great honour to have
been invited to this party, so make sure your
menu looks good!