In the Phoenician cities of Sidon and Tyre — home of Astarte, whose demonized form is Astaroth — meals were not served in successive courses, but as a shared, spread-out table: flatbreads broken by hand, bowls of olive oil and fermented fish sauce, dishes of legumes, dried fruits and salted fish, all accompanied by diluted wine. Sacred foods (honey cakes) were first presented to the goddess on the altar before being shared. This is a cuisine of merchants and sailors: everything must keep, travel, and be shared.

The Phoenicians and their colonies (Carthage, Gades) mastered the art of salting and fermenting fish in brine, the ancestor of Roman garum. This golden, salty, deeply umami brine flavored almost everything: it is the signature of the ancient Levantine coastal cuisine from which Astarte/Astaroth originates.