At dawn, breakfast consisted of bread and cheese or vegetables and any left-overs from the night before. There was a mid-day snack, often eaten in the numerous taverns of the time; it was based on flat bread, fried fish, sausages, and even sweets and fruit.
Starting at four o’clock in the afternoon, dinner was served in the triclinium, or dining room. First came an antipasto with eggs and olives, then the main dishes of meat and stuffed fish, and finally dessert and fruit.
Every triclinium included three couches arranged in the shape of a horseshoe, each holding three diners, who ate reclining on their left elbow. The place reserved to the guest of honor was usually the one on the far left of the central couch, while the master of the house reclined next to him, on the left couch.
Dinners were enlivened by readings and recitations, singers, musicians, and dancers.
After dinner, drinking continued in a clean triclinium.
Tableware consisted of bowls, pitchers, and glasses. Normally people ate with their hands. There were no forks, but spoons and knives have been found. For this reasons, the diners were given bowls of water to wash their hands.
Among the special and expensive delicacies was a condiment called gàrum which was produced here in Pompei and exported.
It was a pickle made of fish left to ferment in the sun and then preserved in salt. It was often mixed with wine, vinegar, or herbs, and was used to accent a countless number of dishes.
Wine was the most frequent beverage, both white and red. It was watered down and flavored with honey, spices, and herbs. A more economic beverage was pòsca, which was vinegar diluted in water.
