Among the Celts of Ireland, meals were not divided into starter-main-dessert but organized around the fled, the great communal feast. Everything came from the cauldron suspended over the central fire, from which boiled meats and grain porridges were served. Hierarchy was visible in the sharing: the hero received the curadmír, the "champion's portion" (the best cut), while grain and milk formed the daily staple for all. At the great calendar festivals — Samhain (entry into the dark season) and Imbolc (return of light and milk) — fermented drinks and first-harvest offerings accompanied roasted meats.

Oats and barley slowly simmered in the cauldron, enriched with the yellow butter of Ireland's cows, are the signature of Dana's table, goddess of the nourishing earth. Butter, a precious commodity, sealed feasts as well as offerings — lumps of it were even buried in the peat.