Cúchulainn at the table

The warrior's meal of mythical Ulster revolves around the fled, the hall banquet given by the king or a chieftain at Emain Macha. People eat seated or reclining around the central hearth and the great suspended cauldron. The climax is the awarding of the curadmír, the 'hero's portion': the best cut (often a pork thigh) goes to the bravest warrior present—leading to fierce disputes. Around this festive core gravitate everyday foods (grain porridges), the warrior's traveling rations on campaign, and honor drinks served from a drinking horn.

An iconic technique of Iron Age Ireland: meat was boiled in water inside a large bronze cauldron, or in the wild in a wooden trough filled with water brought to a boil by dropping in fire-heated stones (fulacht fiadh, attested by thousands of archaeological sites). Honey and mead, oats and hazelnuts, salmon and pork form the signature palette of the Celtic heroic table.