Charles Feldman

Ancient Roman Dining: Food Transformation, Status and Performance Charles Feldman

The book considers how changes contingent to ideological conflict could affect Roman aristocratic foods and their presentation. Throughout, attempt is made to understand Roman elite cuisine as an expressive vehicle for social relations. The Roman noble¿s perspective on traditional foods may have signified Roman identity. Evidence is examined across antiquity that reference classic foods, elite dining and the elite dining environment. Elite Roman ¿tastes¿: the Roman aristocratic food fashions, flavors and styles are examined from different ideological and sensory perspectives. One section engages the spirituality of classic and, in particular, elite Roman foods. This is followed by a discussion on ¿blended¿ Roman cuisine: the exotic stews and sauces on typically expects on the elite Roman table. How the noble approached these ¿blended¿ creations, may have been contingent on his or her worldview. In the final chapter the Roman aristocratic dining environment is explored. It is argued that the dining setting played an in integral part in the noble¿s political-culinary agenda.