The business lunch or dinner is often referred to as the Million Dollar Meal. That’s because a job offer or business deal that could be worth millions over time can be won or lost while breaking bread. As well, a vital relationship can be made or broken over the Coq au vin.

Consequently, dining etiquette prowess — or lack of it — can be mean the difference between success and failure.

Employers want to know if a candidate will be able to handle herself or himself with decorum, style and confidence when dining with clients and other important business associates. For that reason, during the course of a job interview candidates might be taken to lunch in order to observe and evaluate their dining, conversational and other social skills.

“Nothing irks your boss more than displaying poor table manners during a luncheon meeting with a client. It’s embarrassing and it reflects poorly on the quality of people at your company,” claims John Putzier, author, HR specialist and former recruiter.

With the interview lunch becoming more commonplace, and professionals across all industries continuing to conduct business over food – from breakfast meetings and afternoon teas to formal lunches and dinners – it behooves everyone to ensure that his or her dining etiquette is as polished as the silverware and as sparkling as the crystal.

The Million Dollar Meal Workshop focuses on the basic steps of dining etiquette to ensure that participants make the cut the next time they sit down to an important meal that could be worth millions.