Real Roman Recipes by Carla Raimer . . . for a day at the baths Roman baths were much more than public places to bathe. They also were social centers where friends, families, and business colleagues came to meet—and to eat. Read more . Snack food and drink were an essential part of these gatherings, with Roman philosopher Seneca writing of the noisy cake sellers, the sausage man and confectioner who each hawked food to hungry bath patrons. This is the recipe for Garum Fish Sauce As they are with modern Romans, sauces and marinades were an essential element in ancient Roman cuisine. One of the most popular was garum, a salty, aromatic, fish-based sauce. Like so many other Roman treasures, it was borrowed from the ancient Greeks. Apicius used it in all his recipes, and the poet Martial wrote of it: Accept this exquisite garum, a precious gift made with the first blood spilled from a living mackerel.