Chefs clothing was always a large white anorak that was placed over street clothing and served the purpose of being like an apron for the chef. Finally, more creative clothing options are being designed to truly make a chef look good while he works.
Whenever the word chef is uttered, there is a certain image that comes to mind, that of the typical, traditional chef: a middle-aged man wearing a large, white jacket and a tall, white hat. This image is rapidly changing. Although most chefs do wear white chef outfits, we have begun to see some changes in recent years. Chefs now have a much bigger variety in apparel options than previously, when it comes to their work wardrobe.
Chef garb has the practical job of protecting the over-clothes of the chef from spills, splashes and stains from the food that they are working with all day long. In addition to this, a chef uniform helps identify who is who and who should be doing what. The head chef is the boss of the kitchen. He is usually identified by a more formal-looking uniform that the other cooks and chefs around him. The uniform or set of chef rags that the head chef wears identifies him chef to those that enter the kitchen area, for whatever reason.
The job of a chef has gained in prestige over the past few decades. With this prestige there has come a change in the way that people look at chefs and a change in the way chefs view themselves. Naturally, this change has affected the way that chefs want to dress. They have a desire to look better, or maybe I should say, more unique and interesting. You could say that a fashion for the kitchen has been developed.
Chef accoutrement includes not just an apron or a tunic but also chef trousers which are loose, comfortable and are worn over the top of street clothing so as to protect the chef's normal clothes from head to toe. Having a full chef's uniform allows the cook to protect even their trousers from spills and splashes.
Good chef attire should be loose-fitting. It should allow chefs and cooks to move around very easily in the kitchen and to work with freedom of movement. They can work more comfortably if they know that spills and splashes do not mean the end of a meal, nor the end of a good set of threads. Working a full shift in the kitchen is full of all kinds of kinds of mishaps. The chef needs to wipe his hands over and over again as he moves from liquids, to sweets to hot ingredients. Things get dropped and splashed all day long. A chef does not want to leave work at the end of the day with an abstract painting on his street clothes. His chef tunic though will be washed and ready for the next time that he needs to use it.
Chef apparel with all of the trappings and regalia mentioned above can be found both on and offline. There are some very good online stores that show detailed photographs and information on the chef gear that they have for sale. There are always a large selection of chef garments that will keep the average chef well-dressed and happy for a reasonably long period of time.
