# Will a tattoo affect me in culinary school?



## mattk1100

Hello, i've been thinking about getting a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche tattooed on my inner right bicep. The quote reads "And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you." I will be attending Le Cordon Bleu London for the grand diploma, I was wondering will this have any impact on me in school or future jobs opportunities not only in the culinary field but any others as well? Thank you for your time.


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## foodpump

Whats under your work clothes is---whats under your work clothes. Dont worry about that. Now, if you had a flame tatooed on your upper lip....


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## wesgraham

Tattoos have become so acceptable that most businesses are not as strict as they used to be. I have quite a few noticeable tattoos and even though I'm not a cook/chef in the restaurant I work at. I'm still BOH with my knuckles tattoo'd, a tattoo on my hand, and tattoos on my neck. Sure, I will have to work twice as hard to show that my looks are not what matters, but it's a different time. So like the dude above said, inless its gonna show when you wear your uniform, don't even bother worrying about it.


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## foodpump

wesgraham said:


> . So like the dude above said, inless its gonna show when you wear your uniform, don't even bother worrying about it.


That is indeed what I said, but tats on your hands, face, etc are not under your work clothes.

See, a tattoo has one, and only one purpose: To attract attention. You can argue and fight this all you want, but in the end, a tat is just there to attract attention.

As an employer I am held responsible for my employees. An employee hasn't had a shower for 3 days and smells like a zoo, I am responsible, an employee has open wounds/sores on his hands, I am held responsible, and so on. I don't want this responsibility, and I don't think it's fair, but my customers automatically judge me on it.

So my question is, as an employer, "why do you want to attract attention to your hands/face/neck?

If you keep your tats under your work clothes, no one sees them.


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## iridium12

@foodpump

Point well made
It is truly what it boils down to

Had one colleague years ago who was the Chef de Cuisine at a nice establishment in Thailand
This guy was tattooed all over, just not visible when in his work clothes
Had a boating trip during one of the companies team outings and he decided to go for a dip
Most of the senior hotel management almost collapsed seeing him (pretty much covered in tattooed under his TShirt) but then came to the same conclusion

What is under the jacket is under the jacket


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## wesgraham

I completely agree with both of you. I'm not gonna sit here and argue that it's not to attract attention. For me, it was just a choice of caring what people think or doing what I want. Which is why I said, I have visible tattoos that are gonna give me a hard time in my future career, but this guy has absolutely nothing to worry about.





  








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wesgraham


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Feb 24, 2015








^As you can see, I have a rose and pocket watch on my hands, and knuckles tattoo'd. I also have a cat paw on my neck.





  








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wesgraham


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Feb 24, 2015








That's my other neck tattoo.

Now, if I knew that I would one day realize that I want to follow my father's footsteps and become a chef... I may have not done this. But at the time, my idea of a dream career didn't affect me getting the tattoos I did. Any restruant owner will still kinda second guess hiring me because of these tattoos. But we're not talking about me, lol. We're talking about a guy who wants a tattoo he can easily hide. So, I don't want you guys to think im saying don't worry tattoos will not affect your career. I know they will as much as you guys do.


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## chefross

As an inked Chef, myself, my personal feelings are that what you do with your body is your business, but, and I say this very carefully, that while tattoos are being accepted more and more, there is still a mindset where these beautiful creations should not be displayed for the guest or public to see.

As foodpump pointed out there is only one reason why people have clearly visible tattoos.

If a server comes to a table and has multiple piercings and tattoos, it can be a distraction to some people.

Back of the house, not so much.


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