In the 14th century, among the Anglo-Irish gentry, the meal was served in successive courses brought to the high table. It opened with a pottage of cereals and garden vegetables, followed by the *rost* (roasted or stewed meats seasoned with imported spices, a sign of rank), while fish took the place of meat on Church-mandated fast days. The meal ended with the *issue de table*: spiced wines, dried fruits, and honey preserves. White wheat bread, reserved for the powerful, accompanied the entire meal and even served as a plate (the *tranchoir*).

Brought by merchants to Irish ports, these spices cost a fortune. Displaying them on one's table did not merely nourish—it proclaimed wealth and status. In the household of a wealthy woman like Alice Kyteler, they perfumed both the festive roast and the wine at the meal's end.