I had an event in early May for about 75 banking professionals. The age range of this group was broad from participants with their first job, to the more experienced professionals with 5-8 years of experience, to our seasoned instructors, some of the retirement age. In addition, the students came from Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. One participant traveled from as far away as Oklahoma. Having such a wide variety of age ranges and locations can make it difficult to please when it comes to food.

Because this is a yearly event, I have a decent sense of what people want to eat. Last year, I received some feedback that lasagna for lunch was way too heavy to keep them awake after during the rest of the afternoon. It’s tough for adults to sit in a classroom all day for lectures, especially when your lunch has put you to sleep!

So this year I went with some lighter foods. The menu included sandwiches one day, a taco bar the next. Where I went wrong was replacing “pasta day” with Korean BBQ. Now, let me tell you it was delicious. Though most people did not share my “exotic” palate. The instructors commented on their disdain for the choice saying, “Who decided on this food?” I owned it of course, what else could I do?

At this point in my career I am fully aware that I will never be able to please everyone. The room temperature of the learning environment will be too hot for some, too cold for others, the Internet will have issues, or someone won’t like the food. This year, Korean BBQ was my downfall. Some participants even left to run down the road to get NC BBQ from the local restaurant. Talk about embarrassing!

I took the feedback in stride, and will certainly not be selecting Korean BBQ for my participants in the future. It’s important to evaluate the palate that your participants may have. Their age, location, and occupation, may all play as a factor towards the types of foods they like or dislike. While this group doesn’t want something heavy for lunch, they also don’t want something exotic… noted!

I always give “conference chicken” (as I affectionately call it) a bad rap, but there may be something to be said for having a generally universal food that 95% of people will eat/like. It’s no wonder chicken is typically the main star of meals at conferences.

Still, knowing your audience is everything. You may be able to serve Korean BBQ to people from more Metropolitan cities, but for people coming from more rural areas, it’s best to stick with what they know: chicken, sandwiches, standard BBQ, and maybe even pasta! Everyone has their own palate, and there’s nothing wrong with serving what they love!