Business Lunch from hell!

[Riiiya]

ahhh :(

Well it wasn't a real business lunch but a business lunch etiquette lesson i had to do for class.. So 10 of my classmates and some businesspeople... They had a tiny miserable salad to start with . Then there was a traditional meal of meat, cooked potatoes and a bit of some fried vegetables + apple pie in the end...

Luckily they had a vegetarian version- instead of fried chicken they gave me a huge stuffed mushroom...i couldn't figure out what the stuffing was all about..

Anyway, to summarize my experience, i felt approximately like this: i've been abducted by aliens and had to take part in their feasting ritual... the stuff i had to eat felt absolutely alien to my body.. and even though i wish i could just NOT do it, we did not speak the same language!!

I realized how hard it is ONCE AGAIN to eat out on business/social occasions. I mean, i won't start trying to explan why i don't eat anything cooked. There was no time or need for that. It was tough and unfortunate- i don't know what i could have done... would any of you mention that you're raw?

[Mialsse]

I would have mentioned it, yes. If there were a "socially acceptable" medical reason for not eating the food that was served to you (allergies, etc), it would be perfectly reasonable to say something, right? And totally reasonable for you order something that would better suit you, right? So, I'd likely follow that same principal to make sure I had food that would accomadate me and my lifestyle. Not to be a pain, not to draw all attention on me, not to seem all "high and mighty", but simply to be true to myself. And, if you're at a business meeting, I'd assume a client/associate/perspective boss/etc would appreciate a person knowing who they are, what they want, and how to get it.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Hopefully the food doesn't make you too sick.

[justinesmith]

I would have mentioned it, yes. If there were a "socially acceptable" medical reason for not eating the food that was served to you (allergies, etc), it would be perfectly reasonable to say something, right? And totally reasonable for you order something that would better suit you, right? So, I'd likely follow that same principal to make sure I had food that would accomadate me and my lifestyle. Not to be a pain, not to draw all attention on me, not to seem all "high and mighty", but simply to be true to myself. And, if you're at a business meeting, I'd assume a client/associate/perspective boss/etc would appreciate a person knowing who they are, what they want, and how to get it.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Hopefully the food doesn't make you too sick.

PERFECTLY SAID.

[ferg]

What I do in situations like that? I would have just eaten the salad and forget about everything else. If anybody asked, as they always do ask me I just say "I can't eat anything with wheat or dairy".... to go into the whole raw thing would just be too much. People do not understand.

If given the choice, I would have rather had the baked potatoes than the stuffed mushroom... who knows what they put in that.

Next time, before you go, have a great big green smoothie, then just a salad when you are there... don't feel pressured to eat anything you don't want to.

[Riiiya]

thanks for the responses!

i should have mentioned- it was at the campus cafeteria ... so they actually had things ready beforehand and i couldn't ORDER anything (i didn't know these details actually.. that's why i felt so..cornered)

But yes, if it would have been a dining out event, i would not feel bad for ordering something different than anyone..uuh yea i really just hope i don't feel bad. last saturday i got a soup (i guess it had a chicken base) and i felt HORRIBLE the next day- no energy (physical OR mental) amazing!!

[DavidZaneMason]

I have NO problem simply NOT eating at my many business / family / social gatherings.....letting them know I am there to see THEM.....or do business with THEM.....and I am simply 'not eating today'.

-I occasionally say, "I am on a special diet of fresh, uncut fruit." If they cannot bring me any....I am not in the least bit insulted. (of course I ALWAYS eat before I leave the house, and bring a couple of apples or coconut in my pocket to snack on).

-You certainly do not need to be defensive......or discuss the matter further......as personal diet, sex, and religion are very private issues.......and not to be discussed outside of your own dignity barriers. If others don't accept that......either in business or in personal life.....I can always go somewhere where that IS respected.

-Just my opinions.

-David Z. Mason

[EZ rider]

Riiiya -- You expressed that the best I have ever heard it put. I know what you mean. It feels like being a stranger in a strange land.

[GypsiAnsara]

I've gone out for a few business lunches since starting this, and nobody blinks when I order a big salad with dressing on the side, and if olive oil isn't on the table I'll ask for it and maybe a lemon wedge. Then I check the "side orders" section and generally there is avocado listed and I'll order that.

If in company that I don't feel like discussing the raw diet with, and somebody were to ask, generally I say something like - "I have food allergies and this is the safest for me when eating out" and that is easy for anyone to accept. (well, it is in California! And I've done this as a cooked food vegetarian as well who can't eat eggs.) Then you just start talking business!

I actually think that since your situation was at school, you had a tremendous opportunity to see what would happen if you were to divulge your eating preferences, and how they would suggest you handle the situation were it real life. It's a diverse world! Hopefully they would have been ready to accommodate you just as they would a Muslim or Hindu etc.

[Riiiya]

Riiiya -- You expressed that the best I have ever heard it put. I know what you mean. It feels like being a stranger in a strange land.

lol i guess i had to go through that experience to find the right words...and yet that's EXACTLY how i felt!

Thanks for your suggestions GypsiAnsara!

[lily]

Thanks everyone, some really helpful views and tactics here. I'll be using some of them next time I too am amongst 'aliens' (much as I love'em)...

lily

[sfdreams]

I was away in September, and there was a banquet dinner on Friday. I thought it would be a buffet like the banquet at the beginning of the week--unfortunately, it was a sit-down, catered meal. I just explained to the waitress, that I only ate raw, living food and could I please have another salad instead of the entree? Which I did get and was extremely happy about. (I also got the cooked food, but I passed it out to others at my table.) I always carry nuts and Lara bars in my bag for emergencies, so I know I will never starve at a function.

[sport]

I love to mention that I am raw and use every opportunity that comes my way to do so.
How can we get the word out there if we are not prepared to stand up and shout about it.

[dalimeindacoconut]

Your metaphor 'abduction by aliens' was absolutely hysterical to me. Then even more of a nightmare, the campus cafeteria, can it get any worse?

I'm learning how to handle situations like this too, but because I live in LA I think it's alot easier. I always tell the waiter: 'I am watching my waistline so everyone else will too so I need to be very careful about what I am eating' say it with a sense of humor, be very direct, and it always works for me.

I felt abducted by aliens last night when I shopped all day, had not eaten, ravaged my snacky snack portion sized nuts from my glove compartment, two of them, raced to Ralphs, ran to the bathroom, washed those pears, inhaled them in the car, ran home, devoured two avocados, laid down to sleep and proceeded to have what felt like contractions until there was a release of the Santa Ana winds. All on raw!

Thankx for your sense of humor.

[Riiiya]

I felt abducted by aliens last night when I shopped all day, had not eaten, ravaged my snacky snack portion sized nuts from my glove compartment, two of them, raced to Ralphs, ran to the bathroom, washed those pears, inhaled them in the car, ran home, devoured two avocados, laid down to sleep and proceeded to have what felt like contractions until there was a release of the Santa Ana winds. All on raw!

Thankx for your sense of humor.

LOL omg i just had to laugh in this really quiet computer lab (i think i scared some people) that's so funny- and so true.. very familiar situation for me :D

P.S. by the way, i don't feel sick from that food today (i didn't eat much of it anyway though) BUT here's one thing: since raw i stopped using a deodorant simply because i have no need for it..... WELL 3 hours after i ate that cooked stuff- i ...well let's say i wish i carried a deodorant with me! it's amazing- that food was like cheap fuel for a good car...

[callmebecca]

I went to a bat mitzvah party this past weekend and thought up something to tell the waiters when they came around asking if we wanted the meat or fish:

"I'm just getting over a stomach thing and am sticking to very simple foods. Can I have a plain veggie salad?"

For all of my plotting beforehand, I asked for the vegetarian entree as I've done all my life - in the heat of the moment, I just decided not to make a fuss. I wish I had, though - will try again next time.