At Elizabeth's court, the meal unfolds in several 'services' brought together: *zakouski* (appetizers and salted items eaten standing, sometimes with a glass of vodka), then soups and *pirogi*, roasts and river fish, and finally sweets and preserves. It is not a modern French 'starter, main, dessert' sequence, but an abundant succession where peasant Russian (black bread, *kasha*, sturgeon) and French refinement (sauces, wines, sweet entremets) coexist on the same tablecloth.

The king of fish in Russian rivers dominates the imperial table: its firm flesh is served roasted or in aspic, and its eggs (*ikra*) constitute the most typically Russian luxury, placed on black rye bread which serves as the foundation of all the country's cuisine.