Leave Some Snacks Off The Corporate Agenda
Corporate events tend to be filled with professional introductions, handshakes, name tags, and lots of small talk, so the food shouldn't create another challenge to deal with. The best finger foods can be eaten neatly, don't require complicated utensils, and won't leave guests worrying about stains, smells, or awkward bites in the middle of a conversation with the boss. Some choices may taste perfectly good in other settings, but they become impractical once everyone is wearing business clothes and trying to look professional. Here are 20 finger foods that you never want to see at corporate events.
1. Extra-Saucy Chicken Wings
Chicken wings are a beloved staple for casual parties, but generous amounts of sticky sauce make them risky in a corporate setting. Guests have to deal with messy fingers, bones, and the very real possibility of dripping sauce onto nice clothing. Even a stack of napkins can't make them especially convenient while standing and networking.
2. Powdered Donuts
A powdered donut seems harmless on the surface until white sugar starts falling onto dark jackets, dresses, and conference tables while covering your face. The coating also tends to stick to fingers, which isn't ideal before an introduction or handshake.
3. Sliders
Small sandwiches are a great idea for most receptions until they're packed with too many loose toppings and sauces. A simple bite can push lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, condiments, and meat out the other end, leaving the plate and your hands covered. Also, a corporate event isn't the ideal place to test how wide someone can open their mouth.
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4. Garlic Crostini
Crostini are easy to serve, but when loaded with raw garlic, the scent can linger long after the appetizer has been eaten. That's inconvenient when the next hour involves close conversations with executives, colleagues, clients, or potential employers.
5. Jumbo Shrimp With Tails
Shrimp cocktail has a refined and polished look, although oversized shrimp can be awkward to manage while standing. You will need to hold the tail, dip the shrimp carefully, and find somewhere appropriate to leave the discarded shell. Smaller, fully peeled shrimp eliminate most of those logistical problems, but you'll still have to be careful with the dripping cocktail sauce.
6. Overloaded Bruschetta
Fresh diced tomatoes, olive oil, and bread make a classic and tasty combination, but watery toppings can quickly turn a neat appetizer into a big red stain. Tomato juice and oil often slide off before the bread reaches your mouth. If bruschetta is served at all, the topping needs to be well drained, and portions should be small.
7. Meatballs Drenched In Sauce
Meatballs can be a fun and popular event food, provided they're lightly coated and easy to spear. Unfortunately, bowls filled with thin tomato or barbecue sauce invite messy splashes. Guests balancing a drink and a small plate don't need another item requiring careful concentration just to keep their shirts clean.
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8. Crumbly Hard Tacos
Everyone loves a hard taco, yet brittle shells can crack the moment someone takes the first bite. Once that happens, filling will naturally fall onto plates, floors, or clothing, and the remaining shell becomes difficult to manage. Soft tortillas are typically more practical for standing events.
9. Deviled Eggs
Deviled eggs are familiar party food, but temperature control matters as eggs and mayonnaise-based fillings are perishable and can turn quickly. They shouldn't spend hours sitting unrefrigerated on a buffet table.
10. Cheese Puffs
Cheese puffs have an impressive ability to coat fingertips annoyingly. That orange residue can transfer to phones, programs, keyboards, and anything else someone touches afterward. Snacks that require guests to inspect or lick their fingers before every handshake probably aren't helping the professional vibe.
11. Large Stuffed Mushrooms
Stuffed mushrooms can be elegant in small portions, but giant versions are hard to eat without the help of a knife and fork. Their soft texture also means hot filling can slide free if someone tries to bite them in half. Keeping them bite-sized makes a substantial difference at any corporate event.
12. Very Spicy Jalapeño Poppers
A touch of heat can make appetizers interesting, but overly spicy food introduces unnecessary uncertainty at a professional gathering. Guests shouldn't have to deal with a red face and sweating after accepting a tray-passed snack.
13. Runny Mini Quiches
Mini quiches are typically practical, but underbaked or overly moist fillings can make them difficult to eat cleanly. A warm mixture of egg and cheese spilling from the pastry isn't something anyone wants near a suit or dress. Properly set, one-bite portions are a safer version of the same appetizer.
14. Barbecue Ribs
Ribs belong at barbecues and cookouts, and not corporate networking receptions where appearances matter. Eating them properly requires hands, repeated wiping, and somewhere to discard the bones. The combination of a dark, rich sauce and formal clothing alone should be enough to relegate them to backyard dining.
15. Big Sushi Rolls
Sushi can work beautifully as a refined and delicate finger food when each piece is genuinely bite-sized. Extra-large rolls create problems because biting them in half often causes rice, fillings, and sauce to separate and fall out.
16. Ice Cream Sandwiches
Ice cream sandwiches are a fun treat at outdoor celebrations, but they become difficult once they start softening. Melted ice cream quickly drips along the edges, while cookies can crumble onto hands and clothing. Unless they're eaten immediately while frozen, they demand more attention than a corporate snack should require.
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17. Fried Chicken
Small pieces of fried chicken seem convenient until the coating leaves oil on everything it touches. Grease can transfer onto glasses, phones, printed materials, and shared surfaces before guests even realize it. If fried appetizers are on the menu, well-drained, small pieces served with picks are considerably easier to handle.
18. Whole Olives With Pits
Olives make sense on appetizer trays at most events, but leaving the pits inside creates an awkward disposal problem. Nobody wants to discreetly remove a pit during a conversation and then have to hold it.
19. Caramel-Coated Popcorn
Caramel popcorn combines two corporate-event inconveniences: sticky fingers and small pieces that can end up on the floor. The coating can cling to teeth as well, which isn't ideal before speaking to a room full of people, including prospective clients or employers.
20. Anything That Needs To Be Eaten With Both Hands
The least practical finger food may be anything that forces guests to set down their drink before taking a bite. Good event food should be manageable in one or two neat bites without demanding anyone's undivided attention.
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