The Great Hall
The heat in the Kitchen- Chef Jackets and Pants


WebFoodPros.com: The Great Hall: The heat in the Kitchen- Chef Jackets and Pants
By George (George) on Tuesday, June 05, 2001 - 02:09 pm: Edit

Copied from Caters Corner post by Tom on Prime Rib
He wrote....
>>>>>>>>>>>>
This being my first summer in it, I'm finding it extremely hard to cope with the tremendous heat in the kitchen from the stove/oven, coupled with the hot steam shower from the commercial dishwasher every five minutes. Its hard to be sociable to guests who want to compliment mycooking when I'm bathed in sweat. I wonder how you guys handle that problem. My employer wants me to wear a chef jacket--but no way. They just look too hot.
>>>>>>>>


One of the functions of a good chef coat is to protect you from the heat.

A good cotton coat, a little oversized with sleeves worn down, protects you from the direct heat of an oven, cooktop, broiler or steamer and helps wick the perspiration off you, helping evaporation and cooling.

Wear it with a cotton t shirt.

Chef pants they are an outer shield from the heat and hot liquid spills. BTW you should never wear a tight belt or suspenders with chef pants. If you drop hot oil or boiling water on yourself you will want to get out of them quickly.

The Chefs uniform was not made up because of those TV chefs. It has a purpose.

George

By peachcreek on Tuesday, June 05, 2001 - 05:45 pm: Edit

And you don't end up trashing your own clothes.

By The Baker on Tuesday, June 05, 2001 - 06:16 pm: Edit

and get a 100% cotton jacket and pants the jacket is cooler and safer..cotton wont sustain flame, and polyester melts and sticks to your skin!!

By Yankee on Tuesday, June 05, 2001 - 08:33 pm: Edit

Proper shoes as well; clogs that you can kick off in a hurry if you spill something hot on yourself.

When I was working in NYC, the big thing was to wear these huge construction boots. That was until one of the line cooks stuck his foot into a bucket of hot chicken stock. It took him a few minutes of pure pain to get his boot off. By that time he had a second degree burn from the top of his shin down to his foot.

By Rc_fleming (Rc_fleming) on Tuesday, June 05, 2001 - 09:26 pm: Edit

How did he get his foot stuck in there the first place?!

How about those "chef wraps"/neckties?

What about hats, do you prefer the poofy or the tall?

Rick

By togganut on Tuesday, June 05, 2001 - 11:07 pm: Edit

Uniforms have come a long way since i started cooking.This time of year I always here the same thing about heat , I guess I remember saying the same thing but now i would feel naked with out the uniform.I feel baggy chef pants are a great invention though. who do y'all think makes the best jackets. tall hats


troy

By The Baker on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 05:43 am: Edit

The tall hats act like a chimney drafting the heat away from your head.
I dont like them I wear a cotton bandanna around my head

I only wear a neckwrap when its really hot, In NYC thats only for a few months out of the year.
I never really got into clogs, but im told there really comfortable, I wear shoes for crew "sneaker like " shoes. you can get them with or with out steal toes.

But overall the heats doesnt bother me I look forward to the summer, It's the cold i cant stand and i get my chopps busted most of the time because of my dislike for the cold, since my area of the kithcen gets cold in the fall and winter, but I get everyone back in the heat and humidity of the summer because im finally happy and there Dieing!!! and im smiling

By Debord (Debord) on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 08:44 am: Edit

I just switched to the baggie style chefs pants....the guys laughed at me at first since they are really big. BUT I have to say their great for comfort, very cool in the heat, very comfortable....I highly recommend them! The fabric does relax after a few washings so they aren't so balloon-ish...you have to try these to appreciate them.

I wear clogs, but I have had near acidents in them. When walking on the line when two mats get seperated and you step between it can throw you off balance twisting your ankle. So you must be aware of that.

The guys who work the line at my job do wear tee shirts under their coats. I think it looks hot but they don't complain.

Last of all I ruin my look with the dorky paper boat cap on my head (the kind the dish washers wear). I find their sooooo light and cool I don't notice I have anything on my head. I literally can't see properly with a baseball cap and chef hats make me too tall and ockward to move quickly in tight places.

Compared to your street cloths professional clothing is like wearing pj's at work. Years ago I worked in street cloths and I recall times where I was so wet from sweat I could barely peel them off me. That's dangerous as mentioned above and slow if your a female going to the washroom.

My 2 cents.

By Yankee on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 12:36 pm: Edit

The prep guys had just finished straining out a huge pot of stock, so the buckets of it were along the kitchen floor. The guy just stepped right into a 10 gallon bucket. So, as usual, a little stupidity there too.

There was a guy in my kitchen in Zurich who had short sleaved chef's coats. I thought they looked stupid until I had my first job in a blazing kitchen. I still have a few for those hot days. Always with a white tee shirt.

Remember physics? White reflects heat.

By Panini (Panini) on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 07:03 pm: Edit

Troy,
Cotton tee w/ Braggard jacket. The only problen I have with these jackets is they are tapered and my body is not.I have to have them tweeked a little. Hats, we wear caps.
panini

By The Baker on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 07:12 pm: Edit

Oh yeah gotta wear a T shirt underneath.

I keep extras to change from time to time when they get to wet

By togganut on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 07:30 pm: Edit

definately t-shirts underneath and ties in the summer wear baseball cap in kitchen, tall hats in the dinningroom and banquets. I am 6'3" when i wear a tall hat in the kitchen i crush it about 10 times a day on the hood and walk-ins.and boy is it hot already down here in nc.

later
troy

By Rc_fleming (Rc_fleming) on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 08:54 pm: Edit

What do the ties do for you? They sound hot.

By Rc_fleming (Rc_fleming) on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 09:00 pm: Edit

Has anyone checked out www.chefwear.com? any opinions on their stuff?

By togganut on Wednesday, June 06, 2001 - 10:52 pm: Edit

ties absorb sweat ,keep the top of jacket drier,
I like chef wear's pants have a few jackets they are ok , i wont buy another but i plan to buy only their pants they rule


keep cool this summer
troy

By The Baker on Thursday, June 07, 2001 - 05:47 am: Edit

CHefware
Love there pants got tons in a few different cuts

I have there socks, hats, and there bandana wraps I think they make great stuff, as for there jackets I would not know I use the laundry services jackets.
I have tried there shoes to, great slip resistance and style but after a few months my feet where screamin so I dont wear them any more and they were not cheap $80-90 .
My boss tells me he must pay me to much if I can just forget about shoes that cost that much money.
I tell him nope, but my feet are worth it I would never wear them just because I paid for them

By Rick on Tuesday, June 12, 2001 - 03:04 pm: Edit

I have ordered all kinds of stuff from them, most of it custom. They are a real fun and pleasent to work with in desiging uniforms. I love their chef's coats and pants, however, their ball caps are a little less desirable.

Maybe a little pricy, but they make up for it in service.

By Chris on Wednesday, June 13, 2001 - 11:42 am: Edit

Chefwear, Chefwear, Chefwear, They rule!! They make the best product and they are not that expensive. Plus the model in the catalogue (Jennifer Firestone) is truly dreamgirl. As for shoes; Dansko's are my choice!!

By The Baker on Wednesday, June 13, 2001 - 07:07 pm: Edit

OH yeah.
That firestone chick is hot but here mother (sarabeth Levine)
Has a few screws loose I worked in the same building as the bakery that they took the chefwear photos and her mother sometimes just paces back and forth in the building just lookin out into the distance.. wowowowowowow

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Friday, June 15, 2001 - 09:48 am: Edit

Couple of french fries short of a happy meal huh?

By The Baker on Friday, June 15, 2001 - 05:34 pm: Edit

oh yeah......
her bakeries are really excellent but she is a bit short of a happy meal

By Chris on Monday, June 18, 2001 - 11:20 am: Edit

Who in this field isn't???!!!

By Panini (Panini) on Monday, June 18, 2001 - 12:32 pm: Edit

Chris,
I take that personally. I'm completely normal.
My therapist will vouch for me!!
Panini

By The Baker on Tuesday, June 19, 2001 - 05:45 am: Edit

My therapist told me not to come back to him....

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Tuesday, June 19, 2001 - 11:37 am: Edit

My therapist just wanted the movie rights!!!!!!!!!
What could that be about??????


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