In the Lyon and Paris of Ampère, the ordinary meal follows the order soup / single dish / cheese, without the rigid starter-main-dessert structure of grand tables. In the morning or between tasks, one takes the "mâchon", a savory snack washed down with a glass of wine. On feast days, quenelles and beignets are brought out; the scholar punctuates his days with black coffee.

Onion slowly browned in butter or lard is the hallmark of Lyonnais cuisine: it forms the base of soup, perfumes dishes, and marks the regional gesture that Ampère grew up surrounded by, in Poleymieux and Lyon.