At the noble table of the Middle Ages, one did not eat in starter-main-dessert order: instead, 'mets' were served in successive services, from pottage to roast, up to the sweet and spiced 'issues de table' that closed the meal and aided digestion. Dishes arrived together on the table, and each person served themselves. Spiced wine accompanied and concluded the feast.

The noble cuisine of medieval Poitou is recognized by the alliance of sour and sweet: verjuice (acidic juice of unripe grapes) or vinegar on one side, precious imported spices (cinnamon, ginger, grains of paradise, saffron) on the other. These expensive spices signaled rank. No chili pepper or bell pepper from the New World: the heat came from ginger and long pepper.