Among the 5th-6th century Franks, there was no separate starter or dessert as in French cuisine. The morning meal (jentaculum, light) was distinct from the grand evening meal, taken in the king's hall: mostly spit-roasted meats served on large trenchers of bread that doubled as plates. Everything revolved around meat and shared drinks (mead, Gallo-Roman wine); bread, cheeses, legumes, and fruits filled the edges of the table. Honey-sweetened bread and dried fruit sometimes closed the evening.

Clovis's cuisine is a meeting of two worlds: the Germanic spit and the mead of Frankish forests on one side, and the wine, honey, and spices inherited from Roman Gaul on the other. Honey, ever-present, is the common thread linking drinks, glazed meats, and festive breads.