Among the Reformed in 16th-century Geneva, meals did not follow the pomp of banquets: it was a frugal table, often reduced to a single substantial dish (a pottage or porée) accompanied by dark bread and a little wine mixed with water. There was no distinction between starter, main course, and dessert as at court; people ate soberly, out of necessity and conviction, luxury and gluttony being considered vanities. On lean days (Calvinism retained the custom of fish on Fridays more out of habit than dogma), herring and legumes took the place of meat.

Two markers of this austere cuisine: verjus (juice of unripe green grapes), which adds flavor without costing much or indulging in excessive spices, and dried peas and beans, the nourishing staple of both the poor and the pastor. Together, they express an entire ethic: to eat simply, without excess.