In the Italian Renaissance, a meal was not served as starter-main-dessert but in two alternating grand services. The servizio di credenza came from the cold buffet (the credenzone): salads, fruits, jellies, preserves, and confections were arranged and presented there. The servizio di cucina came from the kitchens: soups (minestre), boiled meats, roasts, and hot pies, accompanied by savori (spiced sauces). Throughout the banquet, several services were brought back, each mixing savory, spicy, and sweet on the same table, all washed down with local wines that De Beatis enjoyed noting from court to court.

The refined cuisine of early 16th-century Italian courts is recognized by its sweet-and-sour sauces, the savori: verjuice or agresto (sour green grape juice) is combined with sweet spices — cinnamon, ginger, clove — and sugar. This acidic-spicy-sweet tension, inherited from Maestro Martino, flavors both a festive roast and mulled wine: it is the taste grammar of the table that De Beatis frequented in the cardinal's service.