Chef Clothing A Practical Uniform Worn With Pride

Posted by The Popular News Today on Tuesday, January 31, 2012

By David Strickland


Everybody has seen, either in movies or in real life, chefs that are impeccably dressed with a pair of white pants and jacket. On the head, is the long white hat. It is part of a long time tradition that chef clothing is worn with pride.

Most people in the world are able to recognize a chef's white jacket when they see one. What people don't realize is that it does serve a purpose and every part of it is made for a specific reason. It's one of the chef's important tools.

The atmosphere in kitchens is usually hot and the dense cotton composition helps to insulate the wearer from the intense heat of stoves and ovens. It also has to let heat escape outwards. Cotton has the capabilities to make this possible.

They have long sleeves to prevent burns on the arms. The material absorbs liquids quickly, even hot oil. When oil is spilt on the jacket, it absorbs the oil and allows the cook to have enough time to take off the jacket so the skin does not get burnt.

The buttons on the jackets are very durable and do not break. Normal buttons on other clothes can chip, break off, or become undone. It the case of a chef this could mean fragments of plastic in the food. That is why the buttons need to be strong.

White is considered as the color that has the maximum reflective capacity. So white clothes keep away heat rather than absorb it. Thus white clothes keep you cooler than dark clothes. In a place like the kitchen every degree counts.

The double breast also is purposefully designed. There are double rows of buttons too so that in case the front of the jacket gets stained, the flaps can be reversed, This hides the one that is dirty behind the clean one.

Another accessory is his pants. Usually they feature a pattern called hounds tooth, composed of tiny white and black squares. This pattern is good at of hiding stains. The hat has the main role to signify the status of the wearer. Of course it also serves another purpose. That is to eliminate the possibility of hair falling into the food.

The outfit of a chef is very special. For many changing the uniform is out of the question. The greatest chefs of the past used this uniform. Many feel changing it would be disrespectful to them. The significance of chef clothing goes beyond the job. It's about a gift to create culinary works of art.




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