At the King of Kings' table, there is no separation of appetizer, main course, and dessert as in the West. The Persian feast (bazm) first presents roasted and boiled meats with flatbreads, then a profusion of fresh and dried fruits, and ends with a long succession of sweets and sweet drinks — Herodotus mocks the Greeks who "leave the table still hungry for lack of desserts." Wine flows abundantly, served in silver rhytons.

Achaemenid Persian cuisine loves to marry the saltiness of meats with the sweetness of fruits and honey — date, raisin, pomegranate, quince. This sweet-savory alliance, spiced with cumin, coriander, and mint, is the true signature of Cambyses' table, long before it became the heart of Persian gastronomy.