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A very distinctive aspect of the nations of the Continent of Catalania is their diversity of foods. Each part of the continent has developed a cuisine based on local game and crops.

For the most part, traditional cuisine is divided into three categories: Common, Provincial and Noble. Common foods are the basic everyday meals that do not require extensive preparation, like breads. Common foods may also include more intricately prepared light dishes, as Provincial and Noble foods always involve either the midday or the evening meals.

Provincial cuisine consists of dishes traditionally served in just about any household. Noble cuisine, on the other hand, is practiced only by expert chefs, and is normally only available to wealthy households or in expensive taverns.

There are various forms of beverages on the continent. Alcoholic beverages are especially prevalent, with the making of ale and wine being considered fine skills.

A few selected dish and drink descriptions follow.

Provincial Foods

Sweet Red Potatoes
Port Ocelot / Sometimes seasoned with parsley and ale, Sweet Red Potatoes are commonly found at port taverns in Ports Ocelot and Bengal.

Season salad
Catalania / Traditional dish of cucumbers and onions in vinegar.

Peppers Mieret
Orgoss / Sweet corn sauce and sliced green peppers.

Summer Flowers
Frashil Villages / Fried broccoli and cauliflower, seasoned with pepper and garlic.

Farm Greens
Destone / Collard greens and pork..

Gashran
Rahajad / A paste of eggplant, garlic, and olive oil.

Pickled Onions
Puma de Clin / Popular in Puma de Clin, Pallassi, and Brandon. Usually flavored with anise and garlic.

Anecci
Lione / A semolina dough cut into long, thick slices, and boiled until slightly soft. Seasoned with herbs and salt, and once prepared, covered with a thick white cream sauce.

Stewed Mutton
Jaguari / A stew of mutton, potato, carrot, onion, and cabbage.

Argran Rabbit
Catalania / Roasted rabbit, filled with mustard greens. Usually basted with vinegar, onions, and pepper.

Lebbrice
Pallassi / Bovine meat, roasted but left rare, served with a strong tomato and onion sauce.

Nivour Roast
Port Serval / Commonly served at southern temples to clerics, this dish is comprised of roasted poultry, basted with butter and ale.

Bluefish
Port Bengal / Related to the carp, this fish is commonly roasted and spiced with pepper.

Serrisé
Felineo / This baked dish of catfish is considered a part of noble cuisine in many cities, but in Felineo is prepared only by commoners. It is stuffed with asparagus and covered with a sauce of okra and scallions.

Coffee

Coffee beans are grown in the far north of the continent, and have been consumed as a brewed drink for nearly a millennium. Coffee beans are a major export in Rahajad, but are now also being grown near cities like Lione, Toufor, Jaguari, and Port Ocelot. Many taverns specialize in preparing coffee, and these Coffee Taverns have been known to attract philosophers, wizards, scientists, and politicians.

Coffee is prepared in different ways throughout the continent. In Rahajad, the beans are ground into a fine powder and mixed with the water, making a strong flavored drink. Jaguari, Hasthrass, and Port Ocelot follow a similar procedure, but pass the liquid into another cup before drinking. In Catalania, coffee is mixed with sugar and filtered with cloth, and in the south it is sometimes mixed with nutmeg. In Felineo, Coffee Taverns have occasionally added cinnamon or spirits to the drink.

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Tea

Three major classifications of the tea plant exist on the Continent of Catalania : The Eresam (from Orgoss), the Yellow Isiam (from Port Bengal), and the Azith (from the coasts of the Militocracy). Hundreds of hybrids have developed from these three major types.

The drinking of tea has become an enormously popular practice throughout the south of the continent. In capitals such as Catalania City, Port Serval, and Pallassi, tea is accompanied with a light meal during the middle of the afternoon. In Catalania, black tea is served with Perrenie.

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Wines

Long before the Empire lost control of it's many states it had established a categorization system for wines, called the Imperial Control of Quality Wine. Supervised by a group of Supreme Councilmen, the ICQW maintained strict regulations for wine production. All wines not following these rules were not given the Imperial Seal of Approval, and were therefore not allowed to be distributed outside an immediate area.

The four ICQW categories of wines are: Platinum Reserve (only the finest wines, marked with the Imperial Seal in Silver), Quality Reserve (wines with very minor imperfections, marked with the golden seal), Table Reserve (good quality wines, marked with the red seal), and Outcasts (unmarked, either of poor quality, or not following ICQW regulation).

The Imperial Control of Quality Wine no longer regulates the entire continent, due to lack of jurisdiction. Surprisingly, though, it is still sought by cities in many nations for approval, and for the Imperial Seal.

One of the most productive wine regions is in the vicinity of Pallassi, and is known to specialists as the Birsel Vinyards. Birsel wines can vary greatly in flavor, but the consistent overall quality of these grapes has made them famous. The Birsel region is said to have been the first place wine was ever produced. Monks from nearby Puma de Clin, and in particular, Pallassi, have used these grapes to produce some of the finest Platinum Reserve wines in the past four centuries.

The Marchiré Valley, between Felineo and Cellesse, has also been known to produce fine wines. Two families have been especially successful in creating unique Platinum Reserves. The DeRichand house is well known in the south for their subtle yet flavorful dry red wines, while the Mitier house is famous throughout most of the central and south Catalanian Continent for their white wines of expertly blended grapes.

The Patrin Valley is located about one day travel east of Yonmayer. This settlement of about a half-dozen traditional wine making families is well known to the people of Catalania, as they produce many of the most popular wines in the Empire.

Rahajad produces strong wines flavored with berries, called Jirroul, that are a common drink in taverns. Also, Alier is the wine of the people of Verqin, and it is said to contain a blend of exotic herbs that enhance the thinking process.