Gormandizing at business lunch

“Don’t gormandize those victuals, you look like pigs at a trough!” one of my school teachers used to say. Although you could hardly blame us for bolting down our food, having not had anything to eat since breakfast. So much business is done over breakfast, lunch or dinner that an important aid to a positive image is good table manners. We’ve all sat down for lunch or dinner with that person who eats in such a cumbersome manner that it becomes distracting in the extreme. It is not easy to present a confident image if you chew with your mouth open, spray bread crumbs everywhere or stab the air (and quite possibly the waiter!) with a knife when driving a point home about last quarter’s numbers. The focus of attention will sadly fall on your table manners, rather than what you are saying.

Correct dining etiquette is associated with competence and bad table manners are equated with a lack of ability. You never know when you’ll have to seat a senior business colleague or even be asked to give an appropriate toast. So knowing the correct etiquette means you can concentrate on the people you are doing business with, rather than how you are going to eat the next course. To have that information at your finger tips, whether you use it or not, will give you the confidence to cope with any situation, however formal.

Have you ever been confused which knife or fork to use first? If you are confronted by a complicated layout of knives and forks it can be very intimidating. It's all very well for you to wait to see which one everybody else uses first before you start, but what if you are the host and everybody is waiting for you? When tackling a frightening array of silverware, a good rule of thumb is to start on the outside and work your way in.

When it comes to the buffet, please be judicious and put a smaller amount of food on your plate rather than taking everything on offer. I’m have on more than one occasion been simply riveted by the amount of food that some presumably really hungry conference delegate has piled on their plate. It is at best distracting and at worst you come across as simply greedy. The focus should be on discussing business or networking and not have people wondering where all that food is going to! If a dish comes to the table which you are unfamiliar with, I always say have at least three mouthfuls – you just might enjoy it! If you cannot stomach it (literally) any further you can politely tell your host it was delicious but you have had quite enough. It is considered bad etiquette to refuse any food outright unless you are a vegetarian or allergic - happy dining!