The day of a cultured Danish middle-class person revolved around two table rituals. At lunch (frokost), smørrebrød was laid out: buttered slices of rye bread, topped one by one with fish, cold meat, or egg, eaten with knife and fork in a precise order (fish first, then meat, cheese to finish). In the afternoon, the kaffebord gathered strong coffee with pastries and biscuits. There was no "starter-main-dessert": one composed one's plate tartine by tartine, from saltiest to sweetest.

The dense, sourdough rye bread with its tangy flavor is the foundation of almost every Danish meal: it carries the smørrebrød and accompanies herring. Alongside it, the strong black coffee—companion to Lehmann's long hours of calculation—forms the gustatory backbone of this Nordic cuisine.