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Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome
Craving dolphin meatballs? Can't find a reliable restaurant for boiled parrot? Have a hankering for jellyfish omelettes, sows' wombs in brine, sheep's brain pate, or stuffed mice? Look no further than Around the Roman Table , a unique hybrid cookbook and history lesson. A portrait of Roman society from the vantage point of the dining table, kitchen, and market stalls, Around the Roman Table offers both an account of Roman eating customs and 150 recipes reconstructed for the modern cook.
Faas guides readers through the culinary conquests of Roman invasions—as conquerors pillaged foodstuffs from faraway lands—to the decadence of Imperial Rome and its associated table manners, dining arrangements, spices, seasonings, and cooking techniques. With recipes for such appetizing dishes as chicken galantine with lambs' brains and fish relish, Around the Roman Table is ideal for food aficionados who wish to understand how the desire for power and conquest was manifested in Roman appetites.
"There are many misconceptions about the food of ancient Rome that Faas sets out to correct. The result is half cookbook, half history book and is entirely fascinating to both chef and antiquarian alike."— Washington Times
Faas guides readers through the culinary conquests of Roman invasions—as conquerors pillaged foodstuffs from faraway lands—to the decadence of Imperial Rome and its associated table manners, dining arrangements, spices, seasonings, and cooking techniques. With recipes for such appetizing dishes as chicken galantine with lambs' brains and fish relish, Around the Roman Table is ideal for food aficionados who wish to understand how the desire for power and conquest was manifested in Roman appetites.
"There are many misconceptions about the food of ancient Rome that Faas sets out to correct. The result is half cookbook, half history book and is entirely fascinating to both chef and antiquarian alike."— Washington Times
371 pages, Paperback
First published January 17, 2003
6 people are currently reading
210 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 17, 2022
It took me a while to get through this book, which I was reading as research. I wanted to truly understand the complexities of dining in ancient Rome, for both the well-to-do and the everyday person.
Luckily, this book covers that information in detail, and even includes recipes. I freely admit to skimming over recipes for things like moray eel (although it is still eaten in the Campania region), flamingo, and other exotic delicacies.
If culinary anthropology is an area that interests you, this book is definitely worth your time.
Luckily, this book covers that information in detail, and even includes recipes. I freely admit to skimming over recipes for things like moray eel (although it is still eaten in the Campania region), flamingo, and other exotic delicacies.
If culinary anthropology is an area that interests you, this book is definitely worth your time.
August 29, 2022
This is a history book disguised as a cookbook. The first 2/3 are mostly ancient Roman history: culture, customs, sociology & anthropology. Great stuff! The recipes are presented in latin and translated to English, and most are interpreted to modern cooking measurements. I bought this in paperback at the Legion of Honor Museum when they had an exhibition of food and culinary items from Pompei -- and I"ll never part with it. There are many recipes that I want to try. I'm so curious to try Roman recipes that are heavily cumin & coriander (leaf and seed) dependent -- modern Italian cuisine doesn't use those as much.
While the author described carousals and dining arrangements for festivities, I thought it was interesting that normal day to day dining wasn't much addressed. It seems that the society was largely centered around men based on this history. I want to know more about the women's lives and culinary habits.
While the author described carousals and dining arrangements for festivities, I thought it was interesting that normal day to day dining wasn't much addressed. It seems that the society was largely centered around men based on this history. I want to know more about the women's lives and culinary habits.
November 13, 2024
This book is soooo expensive but I'm afraid I'm going to have to invest in a copy. RIP my wallet, it's been so long since I've bought a $40 book.
February 20, 2014
An entertaining and wide-ranging look at ancient Roman cuisine.
When I decided I needed to know more about food and eating in the ancient world of my own work in progress, I went overboard and ordered three different books on it. When they arrived I had to choose which one to start with. Looking them over, I thought that Patrick Faas's book would provide the best introduction. Now, although I haven't read the other two books yet, I feel sure that I chose right.
The other books are primarily cookbooks, and Faas's book is also that, with plenty of recipes drawn from ancient authors, notably Apicius, who wrote "the only gastronomic cookery book handed down to us from classical antiquity." But it's also much more than that. Faas sets the scene by taking us through all the things that surrounded the dishes themselves, starting with a "culinary history" of Rome that looks at the agricultural basis of Roman society and the various influences that affected it, such as Africa and Greece, and other factors such as feast days, philosophy, and sumptuary laws. He moves on to a study of "the meal," with chapters on table manners, the courses of a meal, the menu, and "the carousal" or drinking party that usually followed a dinner party. The author goes on to discuss Roman wine and other drinks, the Roman cook, and his condiments. Only then, in Part Two of the book, 175 pages in, does Faas start presenting recipes for actual dishes.
I was captivated by so much of what I found in this book. I knew that Romans reclined to eat their dinners, but how exactly did they arrange themselves around the table, and who reclined next to whom? The answers are here, along with illustrations. Did Romans really gorge themselves and then vomit up their food to eat more? (Not often, according to Faas; after drinking, though--that's another matter.) What kinds of dishes and utensils did they eat with? What kinds of pots and pans did they cook with? All here, and illustrated.
The recipes section is broken down interestingly into four parts named after the four elements, presenting dishes drawn from the land (cereal and vegetables), from the fire (cooked meat), from the air (birds), and from the water (fish). I've read some authors who claim that the typical Roman diet was monotonous and frugal, but the great wealth of ingredients, flavors, and techniques presented here seem to give that notion the lie. The Romans liked strongly flavored, highly seasoned foods. But they also liked fresh vegetables, and Roman gentlemen took pride in their skill at growing them--much like modern Italians that I've known in the Vancouver area! And Roman women did not cook. If a slave was not cooking, then the head of the household would attend to it himself; even emperors would practice cuisine and personally see to the feeding of their family and guests.
Faas does not simply give recipes; the various dishes offer opportunities to explain various facts, attitudes, and peculiarities in the Romans' approach to food. The section on vegetable dishes starts with a discussion of the Roman garden, including its required statue of Priapus, the phallic god of gardens.
Each recipe is presented first as the original Latin text followed by its English translation, then a more detailed discussion intended to make the recipe doable for the modern cook. For hard-to-get ingredients he suggests good modern alternatives. The ubiquitous garum or fermented fish sauce, for example, can be replaced with soy sauce or anchovy paste. The equally ubiquitous herb lovage can be replaced with parsley or celery root.
It seems that Faas has made all these dishes himself, even the most exotic, such as roast flamingo or brain pate or sow's udders. He notes when the food is likely to be less palatable for the modern diner, but also how often the Roman dish is very good as is.
I have not been bold enough myself to try making any of the dishes; that was not my aim in reading the book. But Faas's enthusiasm and depth of knowledge have got me interested in trying some. For cuisine makes its own strong, definite statement about a culture, and this book gives a real flavor of ancient Rome.
When I decided I needed to know more about food and eating in the ancient world of my own work in progress, I went overboard and ordered three different books on it. When they arrived I had to choose which one to start with. Looking them over, I thought that Patrick Faas's book would provide the best introduction. Now, although I haven't read the other two books yet, I feel sure that I chose right.
The other books are primarily cookbooks, and Faas's book is also that, with plenty of recipes drawn from ancient authors, notably Apicius, who wrote "the only gastronomic cookery book handed down to us from classical antiquity." But it's also much more than that. Faas sets the scene by taking us through all the things that surrounded the dishes themselves, starting with a "culinary history" of Rome that looks at the agricultural basis of Roman society and the various influences that affected it, such as Africa and Greece, and other factors such as feast days, philosophy, and sumptuary laws. He moves on to a study of "the meal," with chapters on table manners, the courses of a meal, the menu, and "the carousal" or drinking party that usually followed a dinner party. The author goes on to discuss Roman wine and other drinks, the Roman cook, and his condiments. Only then, in Part Two of the book, 175 pages in, does Faas start presenting recipes for actual dishes.
I was captivated by so much of what I found in this book. I knew that Romans reclined to eat their dinners, but how exactly did they arrange themselves around the table, and who reclined next to whom? The answers are here, along with illustrations. Did Romans really gorge themselves and then vomit up their food to eat more? (Not often, according to Faas; after drinking, though--that's another matter.) What kinds of dishes and utensils did they eat with? What kinds of pots and pans did they cook with? All here, and illustrated.
The recipes section is broken down interestingly into four parts named after the four elements, presenting dishes drawn from the land (cereal and vegetables), from the fire (cooked meat), from the air (birds), and from the water (fish). I've read some authors who claim that the typical Roman diet was monotonous and frugal, but the great wealth of ingredients, flavors, and techniques presented here seem to give that notion the lie. The Romans liked strongly flavored, highly seasoned foods. But they also liked fresh vegetables, and Roman gentlemen took pride in their skill at growing them--much like modern Italians that I've known in the Vancouver area! And Roman women did not cook. If a slave was not cooking, then the head of the household would attend to it himself; even emperors would practice cuisine and personally see to the feeding of their family and guests.
Faas does not simply give recipes; the various dishes offer opportunities to explain various facts, attitudes, and peculiarities in the Romans' approach to food. The section on vegetable dishes starts with a discussion of the Roman garden, including its required statue of Priapus, the phallic god of gardens.
Each recipe is presented first as the original Latin text followed by its English translation, then a more detailed discussion intended to make the recipe doable for the modern cook. For hard-to-get ingredients he suggests good modern alternatives. The ubiquitous garum or fermented fish sauce, for example, can be replaced with soy sauce or anchovy paste. The equally ubiquitous herb lovage can be replaced with parsley or celery root.
It seems that Faas has made all these dishes himself, even the most exotic, such as roast flamingo or brain pate or sow's udders. He notes when the food is likely to be less palatable for the modern diner, but also how often the Roman dish is very good as is.
I have not been bold enough myself to try making any of the dishes; that was not my aim in reading the book. But Faas's enthusiasm and depth of knowledge have got me interested in trying some. For cuisine makes its own strong, definite statement about a culture, and this book gives a real flavor of ancient Rome.
March 30, 2021
This really gave me some insight into Ancient Roman views on food, dining, and culinary traditions! And through the food, I feel like I better understand the Roman people as well. I tried some of the recipes, and they were quite tasty. Boiled eggs with garum sauce and breakfast porridge with cottage cheese were great. A lot of these recipes are things that I either wouldn't or couldn't possibly make, like dolphin, jellyfish, and eels. But it was interesting to read about!
March 25, 2008
A truly fascinating look at Roman gastronomy and cuisine. I like it because it ius both practical and comprehensive. The author freely admits where he speculates, and gives useful ideas for replicating Roman meals. Many recipes are included. I also like the fact that the author does not obsess about the bizarre (as do so many writings about Roman food).
February 23, 2008
Not nearly enough reference to the time spent on re-feathering a whole, roasted peacock! BUt insightful, mentioned many of the dishes I liked from The Good Book Cook Book, which has some jesus-tastic recipies
November 1, 2022
If you really want to learn about a different culture, investigating it's culinary traditions is an excellent way to do it. So too with the ancient Romans. This is a far more enlightening book than your typical so and so went here and fought this battle narrative. For the Romans food was used in religious sacrifices, table settings were battles for social supremacy, and politics was wrapped up in food as well, think of the famous saying "bread and circuses", where the elite members of society bribed the populace with free food.
September 30, 2025
Patrick Faas’s *Around the Roman Table* is a work that transcends the conventional boundaries of culinary history, offering an immersive exploration of Roman food culture, social hierarchy, and cultural identity that is as much about human experience as it is about ingredients and recipes.
At its core, the book presents the Roman table as a lens through which to understand the political, social, and economic forces that shaped daily life in antiquity. Far from being a mere compendium of recipes, it is a richly textured narrative that situates food within the broader cultural and historical matrix of Rome, tracing how ingredients, cooking techniques, and dining practices reflect and reinforce social hierarchies, political ambitions, and cultural exchange. Faas achieves a rare balance between meticulous historical scholarship and engaging narrative storytelling, producing a text that is both informative and deeply immersive.
The book opens by contextualizing Roman culinary culture within the historical and geographic expanse of the Empire. Faas emphasizes that Roman cuisine cannot be understood in isolation from the vast networks of trade, conquest, and cultural interaction that characterized the Mediterranean world. Ingredients such as spices from the East, olives from Hispania, and grains from North Africa illustrate the interconnectedness of the Roman Empire and the cosmopolitan nature of its culinary culture.
Faas carefully traces these networks, demonstrating that the Roman table was both a site of consumption and a stage upon which political power, social status, and cultural identity were performed. In doing so, the book situates everyday life, and particularly the act of dining, within the larger sweep of historical forces, showing that what people ate and how they ate it was inseparable from the Empire’s political and economic realities.
A central strength of *Around the Roman Table* is its attention to the performative and social aspects of dining. Faas delves into the structure and rituals of the convivium, or Roman banquet, showing how seating arrangements, order of courses, and the selection of dishes reflected and reinforced social hierarchies. The text illustrates that the Roman table was a microcosm of societal organization: the placement of guests, the roles of hosts and attendants, and the orchestration of conversation all served to communicate status, cultivate patronage, and negotiate political alliances.
Faas provides detailed accounts of the mechanics of banquets, from the elaborate preparation of food to the choreography of service, highlighting how meals functioned as instruments of social and political influence as much as sites of sustenance. This focus on the social dynamics of dining allows the reader to appreciate the table as a complex cultural arena in which power, etiquette, and identity were negotiated daily.
The book excels in its vivid descriptions of Roman ingredients, cooking techniques, and dining practices. Faas combines archaeological evidence, literary sources, and contemporary culinary scholarship to reconstruct the sensory dimensions of Roman cuisine. Readers gain insight into the preparation and consumption of foods ranging from the humble porridge of common citizens to the exotic delicacies served at elite banquets.
The discussion of garum, the ubiquitous fermented fish sauce, exemplifies Faas’s approach: he traces its production, trade, and culinary uses while situating it within broader cultural and economic frameworks. Such passages allow readers to imagine the aromas, flavors, and textures of Roman dining, producing an immersive sensory experience that complements the historical and social analysis. The text conveys that Roman cuisine was not static but dynamic, shaped by innovations, foreign influences, and changing social tastes.
Faas also foregrounds the labor and social hierarchies embedded in the preparation and consumption of food. The book examines the roles of slaves, women, and servants in kitchens and dining rooms, revealing the often-invisible work that sustained elite culinary culture. This focus on labor illuminates the intersection of social status, gender, and economic power, showing that the pleasures of the Roman table were inseparable from structures of inequality. Faas juxtaposes elite indulgence with the diets of ordinary citizens, highlighting contrasts in ingredients, preparation, and ritual significance.
Through this lens, the book conveys that the Roman table is a site not only of abundance and artistry but also of social differentiation and moral complexity, where privilege, labor, and consumption intersect.
The narrative structure of *Around the Roman Table* allows Faas to weave together culinary, social, and historical threads in a continuous and flowing account. He moves seamlessly from technical discussions of food preparation to broader reflections on cultural practices, historical developments, and social hierarchies. This narrative approach allows readers to understand the interplay between material culture, social behavior, and historical change, producing a holistic picture of Roman life. Faas’s prose is both precise and evocative, conveying complex information with clarity while maintaining narrative momentum, ensuring that the reader is fully engaged in the story of Roman culinary culture.
Trade and cultural exchange are recurring themes in the book, highlighting the cosmopolitan nature of Roman cuisine. Faas illustrates how the expansion of the Empire facilitated the movement of ingredients, culinary techniques, and tastes across vast distances, creating a dynamic and heterogeneous food culture. The book situates Roman taste within these networks of exchange, showing how foreign influences were integrated into local practices, how new ingredients were adapted to Roman palates, and how culinary innovation reflected broader social and cultural shifts. These discussions underscore the ways in which food operates as a medium of cultural interaction and identity formation, revealing the Roman table as a site of both tradition and innovation.
Faas pays close attention to the ethical and symbolic dimensions of food, showing how meals could express social and moral values. The selection, preparation, and consumption of particular dishes communicated messages about refinement, virtue, and propriety, while banquets could reinforce communal bonds or assert social dominance. The book explores these symbolic dimensions with nuance, demonstrating that food in Roman society was never purely material but deeply imbued with cultural significance. By attending to both the sensory and symbolic aspects of dining, Faas creates a richly layered account that encompasses the practical, social, and moral dimensions of Roman culinary culture.
Gender and power dynamics are explored in depth. The book examines the roles of women, not only as preparers and servers but also as participants in and negotiators of social hierarchies. Faas shows how the management of domestic and culinary labor, as well as participation in dining rituals, could influence social status and political leverage. This focus on gender provides a multidimensional understanding of the Roman table, highlighting how social norms, cultural expectations, and personal agency intersected in the act of dining. The text balances detailed historical scholarship with narrative insight, producing a depiction that is both informative and deeply human.
Faas’s treatment of taste, flavor, and culinary aesthetics is equally compelling. He explores how Romans cultivated preferences, adapted foreign ingredients, and refined techniques to achieve desired sensory effects. This attention to the sensory dimension underscores the sophistication of Roman cuisine and its role in social distinction, while also illuminating the universality of human engagement with food. Readers come to understand that dining was as much about pleasure, artistry, and sensory experience as it was about sustenance or social signaling, highlighting the richness and complexity of Roman culinary culture.
The book also situates Roman dining within the broader political, economic, and cultural landscape. Faas traces how imperial expansion, trade networks, and social stratification influenced the availability of ingredients, the development of culinary techniques, and the structuring of banquets. He emphasizes the interconnectedness of cuisine, commerce, and politics, showing that the choices made at the table both reflected and reinforced broader historical processes. This approach positions food as a lens through which to explore power, identity, and cultural continuity, demonstrating the broader significance of the Roman table beyond the immediate pleasures of dining.
Throughout, Faas maintains a continuous, flowing narrative that integrates technical, social, and historical perspectives. Recipes, cooking techniques, and ingredient descriptions are embedded within stories of social practice, historical events, and cultural exchange, producing a multidimensional account that is immersive and comprehensive. The reader gains not only an understanding of Roman culinary practices but also insight into the social norms, political strategies, and cultural dynamics that shaped everyday life. The book is both densely informative and narratively engaging, allowing readers to experience the Roman world through the sensory, social, and symbolic dimensions of food.
In the later sections, Faas examines the evolution of Roman cuisine and taste, tracing how culinary practices adapted to shifting social, political, and economic conditions. He shows how new ingredients, techniques, and tastes were assimilated into existing traditions, reflecting both continuity and innovation. These discussions highlight the dynamic nature of Roman culinary culture, demonstrating that food practices are responsive to broader historical forces while also shaping cultural identity and social relations. By attending to this interplay of innovation and tradition, Faas presents a nuanced account of the Roman table as a site of cultural negotiation and creative expression.
Ultimately, *Around the Roman Table* is a book about more than food; it is a study of human experience, social structure, and cultural identity mediated through the act of dining. Faas demonstrates that meals are both material and symbolic, practical and performative, reflecting and shaping social hierarchies, political relationships, and cultural values. The book illuminates the intricate connections between taste, ritual, and identity, producing a richly layered narrative that is both intellectually rigorous and sensorially immersive.
In conclusion, Patrick Faas’s *Around the Roman Table* is a continuous, flowing, and meticulously researched exploration of Roman culinary culture that combines historical precision, narrative richness, and human insight. The book presents a multidimensional portrait of the Roman table as a site of social negotiation, cultural expression, and historical significance, tracing the intersections of taste, ritual, hierarchy, and identity.
Faas’s work is both scholarly and immersive, dense with detail yet accessible, offering readers a vivid, richly textured experience of Roman life through its most fundamental and revealing practice: the preparation and consumption of food.
At its core, the book presents the Roman table as a lens through which to understand the political, social, and economic forces that shaped daily life in antiquity. Far from being a mere compendium of recipes, it is a richly textured narrative that situates food within the broader cultural and historical matrix of Rome, tracing how ingredients, cooking techniques, and dining practices reflect and reinforce social hierarchies, political ambitions, and cultural exchange. Faas achieves a rare balance between meticulous historical scholarship and engaging narrative storytelling, producing a text that is both informative and deeply immersive.
The book opens by contextualizing Roman culinary culture within the historical and geographic expanse of the Empire. Faas emphasizes that Roman cuisine cannot be understood in isolation from the vast networks of trade, conquest, and cultural interaction that characterized the Mediterranean world. Ingredients such as spices from the East, olives from Hispania, and grains from North Africa illustrate the interconnectedness of the Roman Empire and the cosmopolitan nature of its culinary culture.
Faas carefully traces these networks, demonstrating that the Roman table was both a site of consumption and a stage upon which political power, social status, and cultural identity were performed. In doing so, the book situates everyday life, and particularly the act of dining, within the larger sweep of historical forces, showing that what people ate and how they ate it was inseparable from the Empire’s political and economic realities.
A central strength of *Around the Roman Table* is its attention to the performative and social aspects of dining. Faas delves into the structure and rituals of the convivium, or Roman banquet, showing how seating arrangements, order of courses, and the selection of dishes reflected and reinforced social hierarchies. The text illustrates that the Roman table was a microcosm of societal organization: the placement of guests, the roles of hosts and attendants, and the orchestration of conversation all served to communicate status, cultivate patronage, and negotiate political alliances.
Faas provides detailed accounts of the mechanics of banquets, from the elaborate preparation of food to the choreography of service, highlighting how meals functioned as instruments of social and political influence as much as sites of sustenance. This focus on the social dynamics of dining allows the reader to appreciate the table as a complex cultural arena in which power, etiquette, and identity were negotiated daily.
The book excels in its vivid descriptions of Roman ingredients, cooking techniques, and dining practices. Faas combines archaeological evidence, literary sources, and contemporary culinary scholarship to reconstruct the sensory dimensions of Roman cuisine. Readers gain insight into the preparation and consumption of foods ranging from the humble porridge of common citizens to the exotic delicacies served at elite banquets.
The discussion of garum, the ubiquitous fermented fish sauce, exemplifies Faas’s approach: he traces its production, trade, and culinary uses while situating it within broader cultural and economic frameworks. Such passages allow readers to imagine the aromas, flavors, and textures of Roman dining, producing an immersive sensory experience that complements the historical and social analysis. The text conveys that Roman cuisine was not static but dynamic, shaped by innovations, foreign influences, and changing social tastes.
Faas also foregrounds the labor and social hierarchies embedded in the preparation and consumption of food. The book examines the roles of slaves, women, and servants in kitchens and dining rooms, revealing the often-invisible work that sustained elite culinary culture. This focus on labor illuminates the intersection of social status, gender, and economic power, showing that the pleasures of the Roman table were inseparable from structures of inequality. Faas juxtaposes elite indulgence with the diets of ordinary citizens, highlighting contrasts in ingredients, preparation, and ritual significance.
Through this lens, the book conveys that the Roman table is a site not only of abundance and artistry but also of social differentiation and moral complexity, where privilege, labor, and consumption intersect.
The narrative structure of *Around the Roman Table* allows Faas to weave together culinary, social, and historical threads in a continuous and flowing account. He moves seamlessly from technical discussions of food preparation to broader reflections on cultural practices, historical developments, and social hierarchies. This narrative approach allows readers to understand the interplay between material culture, social behavior, and historical change, producing a holistic picture of Roman life. Faas’s prose is both precise and evocative, conveying complex information with clarity while maintaining narrative momentum, ensuring that the reader is fully engaged in the story of Roman culinary culture.
Trade and cultural exchange are recurring themes in the book, highlighting the cosmopolitan nature of Roman cuisine. Faas illustrates how the expansion of the Empire facilitated the movement of ingredients, culinary techniques, and tastes across vast distances, creating a dynamic and heterogeneous food culture. The book situates Roman taste within these networks of exchange, showing how foreign influences were integrated into local practices, how new ingredients were adapted to Roman palates, and how culinary innovation reflected broader social and cultural shifts. These discussions underscore the ways in which food operates as a medium of cultural interaction and identity formation, revealing the Roman table as a site of both tradition and innovation.
Faas pays close attention to the ethical and symbolic dimensions of food, showing how meals could express social and moral values. The selection, preparation, and consumption of particular dishes communicated messages about refinement, virtue, and propriety, while banquets could reinforce communal bonds or assert social dominance. The book explores these symbolic dimensions with nuance, demonstrating that food in Roman society was never purely material but deeply imbued with cultural significance. By attending to both the sensory and symbolic aspects of dining, Faas creates a richly layered account that encompasses the practical, social, and moral dimensions of Roman culinary culture.
Gender and power dynamics are explored in depth. The book examines the roles of women, not only as preparers and servers but also as participants in and negotiators of social hierarchies. Faas shows how the management of domestic and culinary labor, as well as participation in dining rituals, could influence social status and political leverage. This focus on gender provides a multidimensional understanding of the Roman table, highlighting how social norms, cultural expectations, and personal agency intersected in the act of dining. The text balances detailed historical scholarship with narrative insight, producing a depiction that is both informative and deeply human.
Faas’s treatment of taste, flavor, and culinary aesthetics is equally compelling. He explores how Romans cultivated preferences, adapted foreign ingredients, and refined techniques to achieve desired sensory effects. This attention to the sensory dimension underscores the sophistication of Roman cuisine and its role in social distinction, while also illuminating the universality of human engagement with food. Readers come to understand that dining was as much about pleasure, artistry, and sensory experience as it was about sustenance or social signaling, highlighting the richness and complexity of Roman culinary culture.
The book also situates Roman dining within the broader political, economic, and cultural landscape. Faas traces how imperial expansion, trade networks, and social stratification influenced the availability of ingredients, the development of culinary techniques, and the structuring of banquets. He emphasizes the interconnectedness of cuisine, commerce, and politics, showing that the choices made at the table both reflected and reinforced broader historical processes. This approach positions food as a lens through which to explore power, identity, and cultural continuity, demonstrating the broader significance of the Roman table beyond the immediate pleasures of dining.
Throughout, Faas maintains a continuous, flowing narrative that integrates technical, social, and historical perspectives. Recipes, cooking techniques, and ingredient descriptions are embedded within stories of social practice, historical events, and cultural exchange, producing a multidimensional account that is immersive and comprehensive. The reader gains not only an understanding of Roman culinary practices but also insight into the social norms, political strategies, and cultural dynamics that shaped everyday life. The book is both densely informative and narratively engaging, allowing readers to experience the Roman world through the sensory, social, and symbolic dimensions of food.
In the later sections, Faas examines the evolution of Roman cuisine and taste, tracing how culinary practices adapted to shifting social, political, and economic conditions. He shows how new ingredients, techniques, and tastes were assimilated into existing traditions, reflecting both continuity and innovation. These discussions highlight the dynamic nature of Roman culinary culture, demonstrating that food practices are responsive to broader historical forces while also shaping cultural identity and social relations. By attending to this interplay of innovation and tradition, Faas presents a nuanced account of the Roman table as a site of cultural negotiation and creative expression.
Ultimately, *Around the Roman Table* is a book about more than food; it is a study of human experience, social structure, and cultural identity mediated through the act of dining. Faas demonstrates that meals are both material and symbolic, practical and performative, reflecting and shaping social hierarchies, political relationships, and cultural values. The book illuminates the intricate connections between taste, ritual, and identity, producing a richly layered narrative that is both intellectually rigorous and sensorially immersive.
In conclusion, Patrick Faas’s *Around the Roman Table* is a continuous, flowing, and meticulously researched exploration of Roman culinary culture that combines historical precision, narrative richness, and human insight. The book presents a multidimensional portrait of the Roman table as a site of social negotiation, cultural expression, and historical significance, tracing the intersections of taste, ritual, hierarchy, and identity.
Faas’s work is both scholarly and immersive, dense with detail yet accessible, offering readers a vivid, richly textured experience of Roman life through its most fundamental and revealing practice: the preparation and consumption of food.
December 3, 2023
Ancient Roman cooking is a vastly underrated subject in the classics that subtly reveals the values, habits and logic of the time. This book discusses food and its connection with religion, medicine, internationalism, and norms of the time. With direct quotations from Apicius, Pliny, Columella, Cato, Petronius, and more, as well as analysis of archaelogical and historical accounts, this book is factually heavy but still enjoyable to read.
September 22, 2019
Part history and part cookbook, the book does an excellent job giving an overview of most of the Roman republic and empire (as well as the fall) along with what they ate throughout and how the daily consumption of that fish, mouse, turnip or loaf represented quite a lot about the economics, politics, classicism, and religion of the time.
October 10, 2024
Some of the information was interesting. However only rich men’s feasts were considered and everything was based on documents. There was no discussion as to whether written sources are actually accurate representations of what happened.
Also at one point the author stated Romans didn’t need to attend orgys as they had plenty of willing slaves at home. While the slaves undoubtedly had no choice that doesn’t make them willing.
Also at one point the author stated Romans didn’t need to attend orgys as they had plenty of willing slaves at home. While the slaves undoubtedly had no choice that doesn’t make them willing.
July 31, 2013
More reviews available at my blog, Beauty and the Bookworm.
Food and history are two of the great loves of my life. I thought Around the Roman Table would fit nicely into those categories. Well...it did, but I didn't really like it. Don't get me wrong--it was okay. It was just a more boring than I expected it to be. It includes a lot of descriptions about what people ate, how they ate it, and how food tied into culture in Rome. That part was interesting. But there was also an entire second part that included recipes from Roman times. I thought this was going to be pretty interesting, too...but I wasn't really impressed. Reading the recipes requires you to pound down some Roman terms for food that Faas explains earlier in the book, or else keep flipping back to those pages to figure out what he's talking about. Additionally, Roman recipes weren't really "recipes" in the same sense as we have "recipes." There often weren't fixed amounts, and I'm skeptical as to how accurate Faas' interpretations of them are. It seems like he might have just guessed at the amounts of ingredients to best suit modern readers' tastes. That said, I'm really not sure how many people would be putting copious amounts of fish sauce in every dish they make. Some of the ingredients I've never even heard of; for example, what the hell is lovage? That was explained, but not very well. Some ingredients are actually extinct, like laser, a plant that the Romans loved so much they actually drove it to extinction. And then there are other ingredients that, while technically still around, aren't exactly easy to get. For example, where would I find half a kilo of minced dolphin? The writing style wasn't all that fabulous, either; there were multiple cases of sentences that didn't make sense, and the recipes Faas included were also included in Latin, in their entirety. Really, I don't care about a quarter of a page of Latin that I can't read. More quoting often meant that, in the first half of the book, Faas quoted more than he actually wrote. Some of the clumsiness in writing may be because the book is translated (I believe it was originally in Dutch) but that doesn't really excuse it. Overall, interesting topic, but not the best book.
Food and history are two of the great loves of my life. I thought Around the Roman Table would fit nicely into those categories. Well...it did, but I didn't really like it. Don't get me wrong--it was okay. It was just a more boring than I expected it to be. It includes a lot of descriptions about what people ate, how they ate it, and how food tied into culture in Rome. That part was interesting. But there was also an entire second part that included recipes from Roman times. I thought this was going to be pretty interesting, too...but I wasn't really impressed. Reading the recipes requires you to pound down some Roman terms for food that Faas explains earlier in the book, or else keep flipping back to those pages to figure out what he's talking about. Additionally, Roman recipes weren't really "recipes" in the same sense as we have "recipes." There often weren't fixed amounts, and I'm skeptical as to how accurate Faas' interpretations of them are. It seems like he might have just guessed at the amounts of ingredients to best suit modern readers' tastes. That said, I'm really not sure how many people would be putting copious amounts of fish sauce in every dish they make. Some of the ingredients I've never even heard of; for example, what the hell is lovage? That was explained, but not very well. Some ingredients are actually extinct, like laser, a plant that the Romans loved so much they actually drove it to extinction. And then there are other ingredients that, while technically still around, aren't exactly easy to get. For example, where would I find half a kilo of minced dolphin? The writing style wasn't all that fabulous, either; there were multiple cases of sentences that didn't make sense, and the recipes Faas included were also included in Latin, in their entirety. Really, I don't care about a quarter of a page of Latin that I can't read. More quoting often meant that, in the first half of the book, Faas quoted more than he actually wrote. Some of the clumsiness in writing may be because the book is translated (I believe it was originally in Dutch) but that doesn't really excuse it. Overall, interesting topic, but not the best book.
November 18, 2010
Interesting content, although a bit encyclopedic rather than narrative. 5 stars for substance, 3 for style, averaged to 4.
Read
July 27, 2011Although I cannot prepare many of these dishes in the modern kitchen and with the modern grocery selection, I enjoyed this cookbook for its historical information.
November 10, 2012
Fairly informative book about Roman eating habits. The recipes are hard to duplicate but is mostly because we don't have the same ingredients as the Romans anymore.
July 2, 2013
I won't be cooking from it, but it really gives the flavor of living in ancient Rome. Sorry about that. Couldn't resist.
March 23, 2007
Go to prueter.org. Click on my page. Click on Book Summaries, click on Roman Culture.
September 5, 2007
Fascinating
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