Nine Foods to Avoid on a Business Lunch

Your boss just called to schedule an important lunch meeting with you and the Executive Team, which means you need to cancel your lunch at the local café and head off to a prestigious business luncheon instead. If it's the first time you're meeting the VPs, you'll need to make a memorable first impression---and not one that involves a food catastrophe. No matter how much you're craving Spaghetti Bolognese, it's just one of many dishes you'll have to pass to reduce your risk of spills, stains, and awkward eating situations. Here are nine foods to avoid on a business lunch.

1. Pasta with red sauce. Any pasta dish that comes doused in marinara sauce is a high-risk item that will most likely end up on the tablecloth or your crisp white shirt at some point of the business lunch. Steer clear of anything that has potential to create a hard-to-remove stains.

2. Shellfish you have to crack open. From lobster to crab, avoid the extra fuss in preparing your lunch before you eat it and choose a simple crab cake instead. When the server is taking extra time to set up your little shellfish station, you'll be distracting the entire table.

3. Broccoli-based entrees. Stuffed chicken breasts, quiche, or even soup with large chunks of broccoli have potential to get stuck in your teeth. Avoid an Ace Ventura moment and pick another vegetable.

4. Soup in a bread bowl. Bread bowls are great for soup and chili orders, but can easily collapse when they've been sitting too long. Since you'll probably spend a lot of time conversing rather than eating, the bread bowl can leave you with a mushy mess before the end of the luncheon. Choose soup in a regular bowl with a side of bread instead.

5. Sizzling fajitas. Fajitas are a tasty entrée, but assembly is required. Avoid any dishes that require extra prep work on your part, and you'll reduce the risks of spills and potential hazards considerably.

6. Extra-spicy foods. When you have an option to increase the heat factor, choose wisely; extra-spicy foods can leave you with bad breath, indigestion, and might lead to an uncomfortable reaction you weren't expecting.