Studies have shown that attendees perform better when they start the day with a nutritious breakfast. Breakfast conversations and connections tend to flow more naturally than at formal networking sessions. First thing in the morning, attendees arrive fresh with a clear head, avoiding post-lunch sluggishness or the temptation of alcohol offered at evening events.
For cognition, nothing beats it
We’ve all heard the old adage that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. (Spoiler alert: For your meetings, this is quintessentially true.) Yet are more of your attendees skipping the chance to fuel up before the start of the day’s programming? So-called “intermittent fasting” is probably the reason—the regimen touted by wellness influencers and diet gurus and defined by Johns Hopkins Medicine as “an eating pattern that cycles between periods of eating and fasting, focusing on when you eat rather than what specific foods you consume.”
Typically, this means skipping or seriously delaying normal breakfast times. Weight control is the primary justification.
But what about mental acuity? Eating first thing in the morning raises blood sugar levels and keeps them steady, which can set up your attendees to get the most from the morning’s activities that follow.
Read More: The Monday Morning Test: How Meeting Planners Can Make Inspiration Last
What you feed them matters, of course. If you don’t already, consider ditching pastries in favor of high-protein options (hard-boiled eggs to keep it simple, something like a build-your-own breakfast taco to make more of an impression). Add brain boosters such as nuts, seeds and Greek yogurt parfaits. As well as hydrating nutrition in the form of fresh green juices, ginger shots or infused waters.
Think catering that supports a busy workday without causing a mid-morning crash.
“Studies have shown that when people eat breakfast, things like concentration, memory and energy all improve,” affirms dietitian Jane Reagan, who previously served as a clinical nutritionist at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Wardenburg Health Center.
The Power of Breakfast
Breakfast conversations and connections tend to flow more naturally than at formal networking sessions. First thing in the morning, attendees arrive fresh with a clear head, avoiding post-lunch sluggishness or the temptation of alcohol offered at evening events. “Breakfast meetings hit differently when the conversation feeds your mind,” British speaker and entrepreneur Bianca Miller-Cole notes, leading to an “open, illuminating conversation where you both leave with something you didn’t arrive with.”
Read More: Why Your Dietary Planning May Be Falling Short—and How to Fix It
Perhaps that’s why the business “power breakfast” is back. While restaurant lunch meetings have waned, premier breakfast reservations at high-end hotels in major metros often book out days in advance, according to news reports. These early-morning confabs where deals are done and relationships are cemented before the official workday begins became a phenomenon in the mid-1970s at iconic spots like Manhattan’s Regency Bar & Grill at Leows Regency New York Hotel and the Polo Lounge at California’s Beverly Hills Hotel.
“Breakfast conversations and connections tend to flow more naturally than at formal networking sessions.”
So, instead of the typical prefunction-area setup in the morning, why not plan a more intentional opportunity for learning, networking and bonding? And how about a “power presentation” or keynote over breakfast? If you go that route, the style of food service impacts how well your audience focuses, say experts. Pre-set cold items, then begin a hot buffet or have servers deliver a plated hot entrée at least 30 minutes before anyone takes the stage. Avoid omelet or waffle stations that bog down in long lines. Use crescent rounds, not full rounds, for tables, so that your entire audience faces the speaker. When the speaker arrives, reduce lighting and keep the stage spotlit to draw eyes forward.
As writer and critic A.A. Gill once said: “Breakfast is everything. It is the mouthful that is the commitment to a new day.”
This article appears in the November 2026 issue. You can subscribe to the magazine here.
