Food always brings people together—and that applies not just to families and friends, but also to business professionals who want a strategic way to win over clients or prospective partners.
By providing a refreshing break from meeting people in a regular office setting, a nice meal makes an excellent backdrop for opportunities like closing deals and expanding your business network. But to successfully pull off a business dinner, delicious food can’t do all the work alone. You also need to behave accordingly and impress your client or partner with the proper dining etiquette.
To enjoy a smooth-sailing meeting over food, check out these simple business dinner dos and don’ts that every professional should know.
Be well-prepared
The extent of your preparations shows how much you care about the business dinner and its respective agenda. This includes the basics of looking presentable and professional, which are dressing for the occasion and showing up neatly groomed. You should also prepare yourself for conversations that are relevant to your agenda and brush up on information about your client or partner and their business.
You should also prepare yourself for conversations that are relevant to your agenda and brush up on information about your client or partner and their business.
Choosing the best dining venue for both you and your client or partner also matters in your business dinner preparations. If possible, ask them if they have food preferences, diets, or allergies so that you can adjust accordingly. It’s also a must to pick a dining venue with excellent ambiance and delicious food—like the multi-awarded Enye by Chele Gonzales in Crimson Resort & Spa Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.
With its charming interiors and spacious room, Enye by Chele Gonzales serves as a premier location for business dinners that will impress your clients and partners. While its entire space has a classic/contemporary design that brims with elegance and flair, it still offers a sense of warmth and comfort to create the perfect dining atmosphere.
To further impress your clients and prospective partners, bring them to a premier dining location like Enye by Chele Gonzales—where everyone can enjoy a hearty meal and splendid ambiance like no other.
ReTo complete the mood, Enye also has a wine cellar, charcuterie room, and show kitchen that lets you watch how your food is prepared. If you need a more secluded area for important discussions, you can even book Enye’s sole private room which can accommodate up to 10 people.
As for the food, Enye has an extensive menu that offers a truly gastronomic experience. Its mix of traditional and modern Spanish specialties are all carefully curated by the critically-acclaimed celebrity chef Jose Luis “Chele” Gonzalez. Chef Chele is best known for his avant-garde culinary creations that capture the beauty of Spanish cuisine while appealing to the Filipino palate and using local ingredients and flavors.
The restaurant’s signature dishes include the Cebu lechon tacos, which pay homage to one of Cebu’s representative food and are served with mango salsa, jalapeño-frijoles mousse, and sour cream. You should also try the Paella Negra and homemade Croqueta Jamon y Pollo, which Enye’s well-curated wines and signature cocktails perfectly pair with. Aside from adding flair to your meal, these exquisite drinks can also help conversations flow easier between you and your client and make everyone feel at ease. Whether your client is a wine enthusiast or not, there’s surely something from Enye’s wide selection of drinks that will satisfy and impress their taste buds.
Don’t be late
Showing up late is one of the rudest things that you can do at a business dinner. Remember that instead of meeting with you, they could be using their precious time to work on a project, rest after a busy 9 to 5, or meet with someone else—so not squandering a single second by arriving late is important to show your respect, courtesy, and gratitude for setting aside some time for you.
Showing up late is one of the rudest things that you can do at a business dinner.
Be mindful of your table manners
Proper table manners are important wherever you are, but certain dining settings observe more rules than others. If you’re opting for fine dining, make sure to use your silverware or cutlery in the right order or purpose. The simplest trick in the book is to always start on the outside, which means using the farthest utensil from your plate first and following that order for your next meal courses.
Proper table manners are important wherever you are, but certain dining settings observe more rules than others.
You should also orient yourself with the proper placement of napkins; they should stay on your lap while you’re eating, folded and placed on your chair if you need to get up from the table, or folded and placed on the left side of your plate once you’re done with your meal.
For restaurants with a more casual and relaxed setting like Enye, observing basic table manners is enough. Always close your mouth when chewing, don’t speak when you have food in your mouth, take small bites, and never burp or slurp in front of your client or business partner.
Don’t display your phone
We get it: Everyone’s attached to their smartphones nowadays. However, using your phone or placing it on the table can be distracting during business meetings and can make your client or partner think that your attention is divided between them and your device.
Using your phone or placing it on the table can be distracting during business meetings.
If it’s not an emergency, refrain from taking calls or texting during the meal. You can also turn off your notifications, put your phone on silent mode, and keep it in your bag or pocket to further avoid interruptions and show your client or partner that their presence is important to you.
Be polite to everyone
Business dinners are a strategic way for your clients and business partners to judge your character, so always stay polite and kind. Refrain from talking over them or cutting off their sentences to avoid appearing rude. As a courtesy, don’t start eating unless everyone’s orders have arrived—and if you’re the guest, never order the most expensive item on the menu.
Aside from your clients and business partners, you should also be polite to the restaurant staff. Say please and treat the wait staff with the utmost respect, and compliment the chef for the delicious meals. At Enye by Chele Gonzales, they make sure to provide you with attentive and unobtrusive service to help your business dinners flow smoothly. By looking after all of your and your client’s needs, the staff plays an important role in creating a pleasant business dining experience—which leaves a great impression on your client. After all, the level of detail and service at your business dining venue can be a mirror of your business’ attitude in your client’s eyes.
Of course, always say thank you—both to the restaurant staff for their excellent service and to your clients and business partners to let them know that you enjoyed sharing a meal with them and appreciated their time and effort in meeting with you.
By remembering and practicing these dining etiquette rules, you can breeze through every business meeting and advance your career like a pro. To further impress your clients and prospective partners, bring them to a premier dining location like Enye by Chele Gonzalez—where everyone can enjoy a hearty meal and splendid ambiance like no other.
Read more:
Chef Chele’s Enye at Crimson Resort & Spa
Two years of authentic Spanish cuisine at Enye by Chele Gonzalez
A Spanish Celebracion with Crimson Mactan’s ‘Enye at Home’
