Ask Tami
Book Catalog
Video Articles
Tami's BlogWhat’s on the menu?
Tami Lancut Leibovitz
Next week, on the 25th of August, a special culinary day is celebrated in the United States, dedicated to one of the world most famous dishes – the Filet Mignon steak.
Filet Mignon is a second name to luxurious eats and known to be the star of many luxury menus and special events. On the day itself, restaurants around the United States are offering special Filet Mignon specials (Some go far as crazy deals, celebrate Morton’s steak house that offer a $1 Filet Mignon steak deal!) and special grill and meat lovers clubs gather around the country for special events dedicated to the beloved cut of meat.
We are not going to discuss the cut of fine meat today, we will discuss the proper ways to consume it! As part of my work and passion in the etiquette field, I offer a chance to ask etiquette questions on my site and I provide the answers – you are welcome to check it out at: http://bit.ly/AskTami ,
The Filet Mignon celebration reminded me of a special question I received on my site, a question which I thought was a great example and can help others that might have wondered about a similar situation,
What would you do? My Answer follows the question!
Q: “Hi Tami, I regularly attend business meeting with a colleagues, bosses or clients, at least once or twice a week and this week I had an uncomfortable situation that bothered me to the point that I had to ask you for resolution. A client has invited me to a business dinner to a nice steak restaurant, and I felt like ordering the Filet Mignon, it was one of the most expensive dishes on the menu so I assumed the client will order a different grill dish on the same price level. After I ordered the steak, he chose to order a fresh salad with a fruity twist that cost half of my steak. He paid for the meal because he invited me to the dinner and I did offer to pay, share the bill etc. but he wouldn’t agree. I felt very uncomfortable and had to find out for next time – how do I make sure the person in the meeting with me is synchronized with my choices, I don’t want to look greedy or unprofessional, is there a code for those kind of stuff? Thank you, Oded from Tel Aviv”
A: “Hi Oded, your concern is one that many wonder about before entering the business world that require different business codes in different countries, the code allows a flow of conversation and events, especially when it’s a one on one meeting. First of all, your client was right, the person that asks for the meeting and choose the place, also pays for the meal. If in some cases he asks you to share the bill, accept his request, even if he is not following the proper business code. In order to choose your dish in a smart business manner, the ideal way is to use one simple question, ask the person with you in the table – “What would you recommend?” If he says the Filet Mignon is excellent, feel free to order it. If he recommends another dish that suits your taste, follow his recommendation, it will flatter the person for his taste by the fact you followed up on his choice and it will be a great stepping stone to open a “small talk” and “break the ice” in initial meetings with the person, when you still learning each other. As a general rule, it’s better not the order the most expensive dish on the menu, some people can read it as a vulgar act. If the person has no recommendation for you, choose an interesting dish with medium price tag, so you can both talk about the unique dish you choice and on the same time follow the proper business dinner code.”
For any culinary etiquette, business etiquette or any other question, please my site at http://bit.ly/AskTami and ask away! My blog also has plenty of articles on the subject for you dive deeper into the business etiquette world: http://bit.ly/TAMITLL
Happy Filet Mignon Day – Bon apetit!