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It is not fully known to us today whether the word Ramzet was first used as a common name for a certain profession, namely the grape-master, or it was simply the name of a private individual who happened to be a grape-master when this profession first gained significance in Sidon circa 2300 BC. In early examples we see the word Ramzet always associated with the rank/profession of the grape-master, yet in later instances it appears in a variety of contexts however mostly in close relationship with eating and drinking. As a consequence of its ambivalent progress, it is equally unknown what, actually, a grape-master was and what his (for they were in most instances man) duties consisted of. Looking back today, it’s very hard for us to fully comprehend his significance in Sidonian society where he appears with fame for the first time, or any other society for that matter. Nevertheless, we read and see descriptions and depictions of Ramzet in many occasions, in various texts and images, edicts, as well as treaties, trade contracts, seal impressions in both religious and commercial contexts (in many cases they are strongly knit together), house decorations (his impression always carved on the kitchen stove and in the sides of the entrance way to the cellar and storage compartments) or in shrines depicting sacrificial or other types of processions. In short, Ramzet, the grape-master, has always been a very significant figure and therefore deserves a more careful look and better attention and credit than he has gotten so far.
Our humble research aims to bring light (whenever it is possible) to Ramzet’s life, his first appearance in Sidon circa 2300 B.C., the traces of his first reported journey to Cadiz, his services for the Persian kings Darius and Xerxes, his captivity by Hellenes until his forced journey to Libya, his re-emergence as a cook in the city of Rome, dark ages, Arab invasions, his involvement in the four of the nine Crusades, his services with the Franciscan Order, until his departure from Antwerp in 1633 A.D. accompanying his master, Alonso Vasquez, a painter from Seville, to Mexico. The light emanating from the evidence is in most cases feebler than the light of the winking stars. If we ever fail to elaborate the truth, it is not to deceive anybody, but simply because we, ourselves may have lost our way in the darkness that time has covered us with.
As Ramzet’s lives were profoundly intertwined with food, drinks, eating habits etc., he left behind –more than the details of his day-to-day lives and doings- volumes of documents on how to grow, prepare, preserve food as well as extracting medicine from them. As a result, our book contains in addition to the biographical notes, numerous recipes, preparation methods, how significance of salt.