Across all eras of human history, people have craved luxurious and extravagant foods not only to excite the palate, but also to show off social status. The aristocrats of the Middle Ages (the fifth to 15th centuries) may not have thought of themselves as "foodies," exactly, but they certainly were obsessed with exotic and delectable fare. Medieval banquets were grand affairs, and they promised a spectacle of strange, ostentatious dishes.