A typical Roman meat dish

Olives in a Samian bowl

Recipes survive from Roman times of dishes that were served, some of which may sound strange to us. For example, would you like to eat peacocks' brains, flamingo tongues or pike livers? Dishes like this would have been served at extravagant banquets.

Everyday meals would have consisted of vegetables, meat and fruit that we use today, such as lettuces, leeks, cabbages, onions, chick-peas, chicken, ham, pork, sausages, olives, pears, eggs and fish. The Romans had never heard of tomatoes, potatoes, pineapple, maize or turkey. Oxen, cows and horses were never slaughtered for food.

The Romans did not know about tea, coffee or chocolate, and they did not drink cow's milk. Their favourite drink was wine. They usually drank it diluted with water or with a mixture of herbs and spices.

Many people could not afford to eat food that was very fresh, so they disguised the awful taste with spices, fruit, honey, vinegar and wine.

A very popular sauce was garum, which was transported in pottery amphorae all around the empire. It may have been similar to Worcester sauce which we use today.

'The entrails of one large fish and several smaller ones were placed in a container, salted, and then exposed to the sun. When the fish had gone putrid, the liquid was drained off and used as the basis for a relish.'