The main meal of wealthy Romans, the cena, was eaten reclining on couches (triclinium) and was divided into three courses. The gustatio (appetizer) whetted the appetite with eggs, salted foods, and vinegary vegetables; the mensae primae followed with meats, fish, and poultry dressed in sauces; the mensae secundae closed the banquet with honeyed sweets and fruits. Wine mixed with water (mulsum, calda) punctuated each course.

The famous fermented fish sauce, salty and deeply umami, was the reigning seasoning of the Roman table. It was used to enhance almost everything — eggs, vegetables, meats — often replacing salt entirely. Paired with honey and defrutum (reduced grape must), it created the sweet-sour-salty contrast characteristic of Apicius' cuisine.