Immanuel Kant at the table

In Königsberg, Kant ate only one real meal a day, at exactly one o'clock. It was a long, convivial lunch of several simple but hearty courses, shared with carefully selected guests (never fewer than the three Graces, never more than the nine Muses). First came a soup or fish, then meat with vegetables and cheese, and finally a sweet; all washed down with wine, punctuated by mustard, and above all enlivened by cheerful conversation from which work and quarrels were banned.

Kant was a great lover of mustard, which he added to almost every dish. This pungent paste of mustard seeds, vinegar, and a hint of honey enlivened meats, fish, and cheeses at his table — a gustatory signature as regular as his walks.