Among the Mexica, meals were not divided into starter-main-dessert. They revolved around nixtamalized maize cooked on the comal (clay griddle): tortillas and tamales formed the base, accompanied by beans, chili, and on feast days, turkey or game. Drinks (atole, xocolatl, octli) held a ritual place. Above the human meal hovered the food of the gods: the *tlamanaliztli* (offerings) placed at the feet of statues like that of Coatlicue, where food became a link between the living, the dead, and the sky.

An emblematic Mesoamerican technique: maize kernels are cooked in limewater (ash or lime), which releases their nutrients and allows them to be ground into a soft dough, *masa*. Without it, no tortilla, no tamal, no atole. It is the foundational gesture of all Mexica cuisine.