This is a guest post by a fan of our product we'll call Nimatic. She lives on the East Coast and has Celiac.
It was once said never to order a salad on a business lunch. It is awkward to eat. Try telling that to someone who can't eat gluten! A work lunch is usually a nice change of scenery unless you are afraid of (allergic to) gluten. There is the team building lunch, the celebratory lunch, the client lunch, the conference lunch, lunch with your boss or the lunch to close a deal. While most of your colleagues look forward to an expensed meal or are focusing their energies on winning new business... you are doing a quick search to see if you can find information on gluten free options. You're reading the menu online glancing to see what items would cause the least back and forth with the waitstaff.
You enter the restaurant and are escorted to the table, you strategically look to see which seat (if it is appropriate) will be easiest to speak with the staff without talking over the other patrons. The last thing you want is the meeting to turn to your dietary restrictions to derail the conversations or make the person who selected the restaurant feel bad for not considering dietary restrictions.
Gluten free business lunch survival is unique to all of us. Here are some tips that have worked for me:
- Do your research. If you aren't comfortable requesting a "safe" restaurant look for reviews on Yelp or Find Me Gluten Free
- Call in advance if you have any questions to cut down on the Q&A during the business lunch
- Even when you think something is safe, tell the server you're allergic to gluten and it is not a choice... you don't want to suffer the consequences when you're back at the office.
How do you navigate the business lunch?