The program “Let’s Try History: Tasting Roman Cuisine” which was organized on the occasion of the closing of the exhibition “Femina Balcanica: Mater, Matrona, Augusta, Dea. Women on the Balkans in Antiquity”, of the National Museum of Serbia, was held in the Gallery of the National Museum Kraljevo, on Friday, April 19th, 2024, starting at 6 p.m. At the beginning of the program, Tatjana Mihailović, PhD, museum advisor of the National Museum Kraljevo, greeted the audience and announced the author of the exhibition, Deana Ratković, MA, museum advisor of the National Museum of Serbia, who spoke about Roman cuisine and food culture in the ancient period.
The audience had the opportunity to learn about the diet of the high, Roman social strata, about which there is the most preserved information in historical sources. We are talking about feasts where rich and varied food was served in luxurious crockery made of precious metals and fine types of ceramics. In rich villas, with decorated walls and floors, meals were taken lying down in an organized place called a triclinium – where three specific beds were placed in the shape of the Cyrillic letter P, while a low table full of richly prepared food was placed between them. In contrast to the high, patrician, stratum, the poorer strata of society and the army fed more simply.
The production and preparation of food, as well as its serving, was one of the most important productive spheres that a woman dealt with in the Roman period, as part of her main duty – to be the mistress of the house and mother. Depending on the social position, material and social status of the family, the woman performed these tasks herself, or, if she was a member of the middle class of society, she organized and supervised the preparation of food. In the richest, patrician families, these jobs were performed by slaves or specialized cooks, and the main meal itself – dinner, was a social event.
At the end of the presentation, the audience had the opportunity to taste six types of dishes, which, according to old Roman recipes, were prepared by Marina Lukić Cvetić, from the Sweets Museum – Cvetić House, and art historian Jelena Marković. They are also for on this occasion printed cards with recipes of Roman savoury and sweet dishes in Latin and Serbian, which visitors could take home.