Earlier this week, Lisa Masoni’s grade 6 Latin students celebrated Rome’s 2,771st birthday (which fell on April 21) by preparing and sampling various foods from ancient Rome, including dates dipped in honey, sesame candy, meatballs and libum (Roman cheesecake). Students also had their first taste of garum, a fish sauce used by ancient Romans as a condiment. Sixth grader Ronald Cartee’s take on garum was that it would be “popular for a taste-test challenge,” Masoni said. Sensing a rare photo opportunity, Masoni had several students make faces that approximated their reactions to tasting garum for the first time, with varied (and very amusing) results.