Chef Fashion

You cant beat the good old white jackets. They keep you cooler than black. I always wear white. When you think of a chef, u automatically think white!

chartruese jacket with chanterelle logo above pocket
black and white "cuisine" pants....
crocs or red berks.
I don't like white.....would rather wear colors.....denim works for me too.
most days unless I'm around clients it's a tshirt and cheffy pants.

Blue denim, trimmed in black. The locals love the downhome look.

Dickies

Black and White. I have a number of black Dickies jackets as well as some of the white ones with black pipping. They are a lot cheaper than Bragard. But to answer your question...

White is nice because it is classic and you can easily bleach out stains. Also, they are a bit cooler, but the reality is kitchens are just **** hot!

Black is nice because they do not show stains which is nice if you work in an open kitchen or find yourself on the floor often. The downside of black I have found is that it picks up lint from towels very easily. I know it sounds like a little thing but by the end of the day the whole thing is covered in lint to the point where it looks kind of dirty, even when it is not.

Pants are always either checks or plain black. I am kind of a traditionalist when it comes to my work clothes. One thing I can not stand are the pants with chili peppers and the like on them. They remind me of the karate instructor in Napoleon Dynamite who says, "who's gonna' mess with a guy wearin' pants like these?" Simple is best and gives guests an impression of the chef as nice and clean.

One the subject of clothes and since I just mentioned the guest's perception of the chef, it is important to me that all my cooks look nice as well and that they are clean and presentable. They all wear nice white jackets and checks. The reason for this? It does not matter who the person is, when the guest sees them they are the "Chef" so it is best to have everyone look great all the time. My dishwashers wear chef jackets.

they used to call me "vader"

I'm not buying this whole "white stays cooler" thing. I thought that had to do with the sun's rays, not flourescent bulbs and oven heat. But if you're a chef who runs around the kitchen and gets his hands, and his coat, dirty, black is the way to go. Forget about shock value. That wears off right after the shock. But, in a dimly lit dining room where you have to put on a smile before you race back to the kitchen, black on black on black is clean, and it saves the time of reversing those buttons.

I have a black chefwear jacket that I just love... with black pants...I think it looks professional. You do have to watch the white lint issue with black though as cookingw/fat mentioned.... other upside to black is..it doesn't look wet even when it is... (plus I wear a lot of black street clothes as well) Color is no hotter than white... fabric content and thickness determines that.... I have a white jacket (for school) that is hotter and ichy-er (is that a word?) than my black one.....

no offense. but i think black chef coats look super gay....like queer eye gay.

hmmmm....some of the sexiest hetero men I know wear black chef coats.....

I used to wear an all-black chef uniform. Nowadays though, I spend a ton of time in the pastry shop, so for that I wear white. I'm not sure which I prefer really, I think my favourite look would be a white jacket with black pants and a black apron.

I Love the look of Black

I have Black, White, Mango and a few other colors.
You live in Chef's wear there should be options!
However when I am baking I wear white it makes sense, and when I do show style cooking I would never wear white, no matter how careful you are one accidental splatter and you look sloppy untill you are done.
I think the crisp Black on Black stands out and it hides a lot of imperfections.

Just my 2 cents

i couldn't agree with you more on the white. white is classic, and the industry we are in appreciates and values tradition. i always invest in a more luxurious chef jacket -- it's worth the investment. been dealing with a little team at cayson culinary designs lately - awesome. other than that, i just go with a jacket that holds up, lasts, nothing trendy... my 2 cents.

In my humble opinion: It depends. I love the black on black. Looks sleek & professional and stays cleaner longer through service. White on white is a classic look and I would wear that outside if I ever did an event outside, but in general, I don't like white for the back of the house.

 

We have a casual family restaurant, so most of my line wears a cool logo graphic tshirt, black aprons, black military cap w/ logo. I believe uniformity is important to efficiently function, so my line & help all dress the same. I also believe that it is important for constant branding. Our Chefs & Mgmt have nice black or red logo jackets that match. The mgmt has one available and uses the jacket as a "cover up" so their dress shirt (nice logo polo) doesn't get dirty if they have to run back there and help on the line (because aprons don't have full coverage). I am actually looking for better quality jackets for them. Maybe I should post a question on here! Great idea! :)

 

PS: Black on black with black shoes & pants and a black cape & mask with breathing apparatus = Darth Chef -- might not want to take it that far... or you might.

 

 

I always kept one nice jacket around to wear when I had to work carving and omelet stations at buffets, or do something in the FOH like table side cooking. I never wore it on the line or during prep so it stayed immaculate.

 

I vote white jackets, black pants (because they do double duty as civvies, lol). I've been buying from http://www.kng.com for years because they have good quality and they are mad cheap. My first pair of checks I bought were from Chefware. They were expensive and didn't last 3 months before the crotch wore out. I get a 1-2 years out of the KNG pants and they are a fraction of the price. And even then, I only have to trow them out because the stitching on the band unraveled too much, or I split the crotch. The only down side is they are poly, so they are a little warmer.

 

I also like cook/dishwasher shirts. They are much lighter and have snap buttons. But they are short sleeved.

 

 

What do you guys do about hats? I like pill box style hats. Hate those tall paper hats. Always knocking them off on the hood or the walkin.

I prefer black or other colours, but currently it's white... with the restaurant logo embroidered on one side and my name on the other.  I have only two of those coats though so the other days it's my own white jackets, black pants, danskos, and a black apron.  As for hats, we don't do  hats at our place but I do prefer the pillbox style over the tall hats or ball caps. 

I'm a traditonalist, and I will admit that I prefer white.

 

However, I switched my staff to black, and I've cut my uniform expenses in half. It makes good business sense.

I prefer black. But it all comes down to your personality. If you wear alot of black normally then rock a black chef coat. Its all about your style.

my jackets are avacado green, cobalt blue, black and sometimes denin, cuz sometimes i'm a cowgirl......black yoga pants or checks and always, always danskos...and to whoever said black is gay...shame on you...its a hot look and so are the men who wear it!....

joey 

If Johnny Cash had been a cook, he would have worn black.

no offense. I personally into white chef jacket. I have few black short sleeve jacket, but always hang on the wall

 Uhhh... you can't argue with physics, although many have.  White reflects HEAT, which comes from standing infront of a 8 eye monster, with a salamander and charbroiler breathing down your back.   If you did any research on it, Escoffier indtroduced white jackets for this reason, before that they were grey.

 

Colours don't really matter to me, whatever floats your boat, I prefer white for the many reasons listed above.  However, if you wear those one-size-fits-all baggy pants that you can hide a pregneant elephant in the pockets with a pattern of little red chilllis and pepper shakers, I'm gonna give you a hard time....

 

What I really HATE is someone messing around with the design of the jacket itselff.  Changing for change's sake.  Like those stupid jacket that look double breasted but aren't, held together with those stupid baby-pajama snap-buttons.  Snaps will give out after 6 washes, and you can't flip the jacket over to a clean side  if you have to go out to the dining room or whatever.

I'm all about a plain white chef's coat with no names or logo's embroidered on it. I really can't stand chef's putting their names on their jackets. I mean, mayyybe if you're some famous 3-star chef but otherwise it just seems silly. Checks or plain black for pants and white aprons or the traditional commis apron(blue with white stripes, I like these cause they stay clean looking). Alternatively, I'm OK with chef's wearing a black chef coat with black pants but anything else is overkill. All the crazy colors and designs, yuck. If you want to "Express yourself" wear a baseball cap, otherwise, save it for the plate please.

I wear black pants and a white chef's jacket with a tank top underneath it, some funky colored socks and my black crocs.

 

I too have considered going to a black chef's jacket since my white ones are starting to not be so "white" (despite the clorox soak), however, when I cut up my handmade marshmallows I tend to get the dusting powder all over and I don't think that would look so good for a chef to be wearing a black jacket with white powder all over the front.

 

I do like to add a little flair sometimes, (usually around the holidays) so I will add colored ribbons to my braids (I put my long hair in pigtails for work with a headband) and of course my funky colored socks. I have pairs for every holiday, hearts, pumpkins, shamrocks, skull and crossbones (for talk like a pirate day )  etc.

veronporter,

 well, you obviously ain't a woman!!! women=clothes, men=cars...i love colors and cute shoes...are you crazy!... i hallelujah the day someone(probably a woman) brought in bright fresh new colors into the kitchen! if you looks pretty and you feels pretty, its a good thing...like it makes you wanna do a little jig! maybe like, yeah we can all cook when its cloudy and rainy outside just fine, but don't you just plain feel better and the skies the limit when it's a bluebird day?..kinda the same things with colored jackets...well, at least for me..

joey

i found chef coats on happy chef that are really light. and they have ventillation holes on the sides and the upper back. that's for when it's really hot and want to look presentable. but my kitchen gets 150 degrees in the summer time so most days it's a tee shirt from my restaurant, the lightest black mesh shorts i can find, and my ridiculously orange crocs (mario batali, eat your heart out). i also wear a vans trucker hat backwards. it's got holes so it breathes, and i dont have to wear a god damned hair net.

oh and by the way happy chef will also custom embroider your chef coat if you buy it from them i definitely have a coat that says,

"Skip

sous chef

Who's Your Daddy?"

 

I too am in favor of tradition and white. I work in an exposed kitchen and we all sport white Palermo jackets from Chef Works. Granted black does hide much more, but if you can work clean enough to keep your whites bright and stain free then it is all the more impressive. 

White is clean, white is our tradition, then again all traditions come to an end, so why switch to black, maybe fire engine red

I wear black its good for stains etc. but i prefer white in the dining room. I always keep a clean white in my office.

Do you know who started this "tradition?". Don't give me some bull**** answer like "The French" because they did not!!! Why not fire engine read a book.