Francis I at the table

At the table of Francis I, the meal unfolded in several "courses" brought together and placed on the tablecloth: first the pottages and broths, then the "rost" (roasts and large venison pies), then the sweet-spiced "entremets", and finally the "issue de table", the closing moment when hypocras and dry preserves were served to aid digestion. There were no starters, main courses, or desserts in the modern sense: everything coexisted, and one helped oneself according to rank and desire, the king being served first.

Sixteenth-century French royal cuisine knew neither tomato nor common lemon: it was soured with verjuice (pressed green grape juice) and liberally perfumed with cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and the precious grains of paradise (melegueta pepper). Rare sugar and costly spices signaled the wealth of the diner — at the court of Francis I, it was a display of power as much as a pleasure.