Depends. If you want to try kicking up the kava then meals with some fat or spice can potentiate the headiness. Meals with lots of carbs/starch tend to absorb and downgrade the kava experience. For me cheese or other dairy fat can really kick it up a bit while satisfying my hunger. I also find fruit to be pretty neutral - and great at getting rid of kava taste and that mucus that can coat your throat/tongue from kava and is a bit more couth than a spit trough.
I've found that if I have a meal after I have kava, the next day my stomach troubles aren't nearly as problematic. So... maybe 30 minutes after my last shell I'll always have something.