On Sat, 22 Jan 2005 18:51:20 +0700, "Daniel" >
wrote:


>It dates back to the peak of the Roman Empire might and wealth.
>The rich Romans were used to organise huge parties with a lot of guests and
>a lot of food.
>Many more guests than their available porcelain, ceramic, wood and/or metal
>dishes can accomodate.
>So, it became a standard practice to serve the food over thin circular bread
>especially backed for that.

An interesting sidenote to this is that the same practice existed in England in
the middle ages. There, the bread "plate" was quite large and was like a modern
serving platter -- enough for several people, but too hard to eat, just a
disposable plate. It (and the food on it) was called a "mess", hence the modern
term "mess hall".