LONDON - Today??s European businessperson is more likely to be seen schmoozing over breakfast instead, the Wall Street Journal reports.

From London to Paris, breakfast has replaced lunch as the go-to meal for making deals and wowing clients. In London, the Goring Hotel, the Wolseley and George cater to members and patrons who want to break their fast while conducting business.

However, those involved in the art world still use lunch to conduct business and sell art. "In the early ??90s, the business lunch crowd tended to be stockbrokers, lawyers and head-hunters," said restaurateur Nigel Platts-Martin, "but these days, they are more likely to be hedge-fund directors or senior people in the art world."

Britain has retailed its status as the capital of the power lunch, with business lunches lasting a couple of hours. Parisian lunches tend to last for longer than an hour at leading hotel restaurants. Italian lunches spill over well into the afternoon.

One other shift in power lunches is the lack of alcohol consumed. Many businesspeople have become teetotalers during the noontime meal, which has some longing for a return of the three-martini lunches of years past.