At the 13th-century papal court, wandering between Rome, Viterbo, and Anagni, meals were not served as an appetizer followed by a main course, but rather as several 'dishes' (services) brought to the table together, where each person helped themselves. Everything was dictated by the Church calendar: on meat days, meat was permitted, but on the countless lean days — Lent, vigils, Fridays, Ember Days — only fish, vegetables, fruits, and almond milk were allowed. Magnificence was expressed less in abundance than in the refinement of spices and the whiteness of preparations.

Saffron, cinnamon, ginger, and pepper — brought at great cost by merchants — marked the cuisine of the Church's elite: they colored, perfumed, and displayed rank. On lean days, pounded almond milk replaced the forbidden animal milk and became the creamy base of Lenten pottages.