At the Ethiopian table, and even more so at the imperial table, meals are not served as separate courses of starter-main-dessert. Instead, a large teff flatbread, injera, is spread on a communal platter (woven mesob basket): it serves as tablecloth, plate, and utensil all at once. On it are placed small colorful pools of stews (wat), purees, and vegetables. Each person tears a piece of injera with the right hand to scoop up a bite; the supreme gesture of friendship is the gursha, feeding a morsel to your neighbor. The calendar of the Tewahedo Orthodox Church governs everything: nearly two hundred fasting days (tsom) without meat or animal products alternate with feast days when doro wat takes center stage. The meal often ends with the coffee ceremony (buna), three ritual rounds.

Two souls of Ethiopian cuisine. Berbere is a fiery red spice blend (dried chili, fenugreek, korarima cardamom, ajwain, cloves, ginger, garlic); niter kibbeh is clarified butter perfumed with spices and herbs. Together they give imperial wats their deep color, warmth, and unmistakable aroma.