Everyone knows the typical look of a chef, the white hat, white coat, black pants and occasionally a neckerchief to complete the outfit. However in today’s professional environment, things have changed. When the chef uniform was ‘created’ this was definitely the case, so let’s start with how things used to be.
The White Chef Jacket
Back in the mid-19th century, Marie-Antoine Careme is considered the creator of the chef outfit, by creating the outfit with consisting of a white chef coat. It wasn’t until Georges-Auguste Escoffier came along that he wanted to standardize the chef uniform. The white coat was used to serve a few different purposes; not only did it not conceal any dirt and revealed the cleanliness of the kitchen, white was also associated with other skilled professionals such as scientists and doctors. Back then, a chef mostly remained in the kitchen preparing meals, but in today’s business, this is not always the case.
The Rise of the Black Chef Jacket
In most modern day restaurants, the kitchen is no longer a secluded place for the chefs. It is often a open environment for the customers to see. Also most chef’s nowadays have more interaction with customers, creating a need for chef coats that wont appear soiled or heavily stained. The black chef jacket has gained a lot of popularity because of these new situations.