# Chef Jacket



## chefchrisd (May 20, 2012)

Just out of curiosity, how many of you really, truly, don't wear your chef jacket into work as you walk through the door? I do... I like being prepared and just coming in, washing my hands, and getting down to business. Apparently it's unsanitary to wear the jacket outside for a brief moment? I don't really buy it... but if it's the industry standard and something that I'm just overlooking, then I will change my practice. Do you all take it off when you go out also? I generally just leave mine on as I walk out the door and go to the grocery store, just out of convenience. But it goes in the basket or the washer that night..

Thanks,

Chris


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I have seen and done both ways . Here is a reverse . The NYC Health Dept  1 ordanence says "you can't wear street clothes in the kitchen'' if it applies to the reverse? it does not say.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

I worked a sterile area (delivery room) in a busy Labor and Delivery unit.

Back in the day we wore our street clothes in and changed to scrubs.

Now, as I understand it you can wear your scrubs from home and then put on a "sterile" covering as well as the tall shoe coverings (blue paper boots) and hair cover, mask...blablabla.

Ok by me.

Think of your chef coat as the "sterile" covering for your kitchen.

Keep it (and I suggest you have more than one) in your locker or whatever, put it on when you get ready to enter the kitchen proper and remove it before going for a smoke or whatever.

Is this what you were looking for, ed?


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## cacioepepe (Apr 3, 2011)

I don' wear mine outside due to my own principles.  I think its completely unacceptable to wear your jacket and/or apron outside of the restaurant.  I think people who do either want to be seen in their jackets or don't care enough about their craft and think its ok get their clothes dirty.  But I'm also a stickler for making sure no towels or aprons are worn in the bathroom or while your having a smoke.  I think it's all unprofessional.  My only compromise on this is if you go out back where no one can see you to suck down a cigarette or take a quick phone call....but, I guess thats hypocritical. Otherwise don't be that guy who strolls around in your whites.


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## petemccracken (Sep 18, 2008)

For me, there are "kitchen whites" ( working clothes that stay in the kitchen) and FOH whites (dress up clothes worn to meet the public).


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

I'm basically  BOH cheffin, but visit FOH to make brief mingle-appearances during banquet service.

I have enough trouble keeping my jackets clean just thru prep, cooking and service without wearing

them to Starbucks for a latte'-run... HOWEVER, if I'm late for work I have been known to *cough* drive to work in it.

BAD Meezy! I usually wear black (stays cleaner) but have a white knotted as well--my choice.

AFTER work though, all bets are off--too tired to change, I wear it home, to get something to eat, whatever,

spray-n-wash and toss it in the wash. 

Glad I got that said, thank-you.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

This is a great thread/question. I never thought about it before. I like to wear a chef coat when I'm just doing cooking stuff at home. _It makes me feel good._ I think now for future reference, I will dress at work, for the professional GP standards of it. I'm not going to undress for breaks or such though. I'm still too much of a dinosaur. Thanks _*Strummin365*_ for bringing this up.


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## poorpig (Aug 9, 2012)

the restaurant i work at supplies us our jackets and black pants, but I'm super picky about my pants. I wore tuxedo pants out of sheer comfort, wearing a heavy chef jacket in a 100 + degree kitchen is silly enough, so I go for super fine, light tuxedo pants that I wear to work. So, I wear the pants to work but I change my street shirt into a jacket when I get there and throw it in the hamper when I leave. But, I don't necessarily agree with chefs wearing their uniforms outside of work, I see no reason to be wearing the jacket outside of the restaurant.


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## retreatchef (Aug 26, 2012)

I agree with cacioEpepe in the fact that I think people do this just to be seen in their chef coat... and I can't stand it!!! I get on my employees all the time about it, I fortunately have an office that I change in every day... however no excuse why you can't slip in the bathroom when you get to work and change (you shuold always be at work at least 10 minutes before your shift starts anyway). Definately wearing home after your shift is a complete "no no" especially if you're like some of my employees that can't keep a jacket white even for the first 10 minutes they are on the clock, because do you really want the public seeing you in a filthy jacket and have them know where you work and your filthiness is preparing their food?!?!?
I NEVER go in public in my whites (and mine stay pretty whtie), if I have to make a quick run to the store I take it off and just rock an undershirt until I get back to work.


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## spam (Aug 14, 2012)

I never wear my whites out in public. The furthest I get from the BOH (or if doing a catering, the "line", as it were) in uniform is when I'm visiting a table (in which case I make sure my uniform is spotless) or making a quick run to the FOH for whatever reason. Otherwise I liken it to a Police Officer or Firefighter walking around in uniform off the clock. I think it's unprofessional, and a little bit show-offy for my tastes.

Even if I'm just making a quick run to the convenience store during a break, I will change into my street T, and back into my jacket upon my return.


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

I have done both depending upon conditions. Now I get dressed in my uniform and go. What if you wear checked pants as I do should you change them also. I spend enough time at work without the added enjoyment of having to get dressed again when I arrive, take a break and then again when I leave.I really do not see what a big deal this is except from an ego standpoint and the common sense of doing more laundry but then again I am older and starting to really streamline my movements and time.


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## nick alexander (Feb 26, 2012)

Well this thread makes me feel bad haha

I wear my coat to work (just in the car) but sometimes if I have a few errands to run after work I keep it on.

Not to show off , but cause my undershirt is usually dirtier than my coat. (sweaty and stuff)

Never knew this was poor taste or bad practice

I'm young and dumb


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

It's not _"poor taste"_ or _"bad practice"_. Those are just the _opinions_ of some people. We all get to have opinions. You may be young, but you are not necessarily dumb. Not for wearing a chef's coat outside of a kitchen anyway. _Our profession ain'te rocket surgery ... we work in kitchens._


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## cookers (Jun 11, 2011)

I feel as though anyone managing this issue has a larger ego problem than someone who wears their clothes outside of a kitchen. I'm a chef therefor I must act all professional and do this and that and make it known to the world! You put it out there more than a person who keeps his coat on to run a few errands but keeps quiet.

The sanitary part I can kind of understand, however if you're that worried about sanitary issues in your kitchen, you may want everyone to remove ALL of their clothes, take a shower in some disinfectant solution in a sterile room, and change into a protection suit before entering the kitchen. Realistically, changing just a shirt/jacket isn't doing much to prevent germs.


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## phaedrus (Dec 23, 2004)

I'll generally ditch the coat when I'm done for the day, but if I have to stop at the store on the way home I'll still have my houndstooth pants on.  I'm not taking extra pants with me!


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

I put mine on in the morning and wear it in to work, and continue wearing it on the drive home, except on very hot and exhausting days.

I frequently walk outside to the other kitchen, sit in offices for discussions, pop by the break area for a quick chat, go downstairs to our storage in the parking garage, etc.

If I shouldn't wear the coat anywhere but the kitchen I'd be constantly changing clothes.

And if you knew anything about me you wouldn't even suggest I do it out of egotism.

It's a uniform signifying what I do, not who I am.


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## xerp (Dec 24, 2011)

PeteMcCracken said:


> For me, there are "kitchen whites" ( working clothes that stay in the kitchen) and FOH whites (dress up clothes worn to meet the public).


This is what i am accustomed to. I have nicer chef jackets with borders/patches/embroidery on them that I wear when doing table touches, representing the restaurant and wearing to and from work. Then I have some nice plain whites I use while actually working in the Kitchen. I haven't heard anything about federal or state law about wearing chef clothes outside of a kitchen but I also live in Missouri. But I do know this.. when I was working with Cooking Interns from places like England if they were caught wearing whites outside of work they would get fined I think that or it would be a health violation against the restaurant. Something to that extent, Yet I could be wrong this is a long while back now and I may have my facts messed up but it was something to do to that degree if you were caught.


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## robo (Sep 3, 2012)

my place of employment supplys uniforms ,so it's not an issue for me. As far as wearing a uniform to outside the work place to be showy, i never considered seeing someone in a chef jacket to be impressive, like people would be turning their heads like they saw a rock star walk by.


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## cookers (Jun 11, 2011)

Robo said:


> my place of employment supplys uniforms ,so it's not an issue for me. As far as wearing a uniform to outside the work place to be showy, i never considered seeing someone in a chef jacket to be impressive, like people would be turning their heads like they saw a rock star walk by.


In france and some other countries, chefs are at the top of the totem pole. At least from what I heard.


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## 808jono202 (Sep 3, 2012)

Cookers said:


> In france and some other countries, chefs are at the top of the totem pole. At least from what I heard.


This can be true, if the Chef is well known, but Chefs in the EU, like here in the USA, are also EVERYWHERE. The Big difference in the EU, they don't have as much food-centric programing/networks, so there is more respect towards the craft. Here, I see kids in their whites on the metro, and it's like they wear it as a sign of arrogance, and pompousness.

I guess it all depends on who is doing the interpreting.

With our company, employees are urged NOT to wear uniforms while commuting. They are urged to get to the unit 15min prior to shift to allow for changing into uniform. We have never had a problem, employees who rely on public transportation PREFER to travel in their own, comfortable cloths. For those that drive into work, wearing the uniform is no biggy, for me really. I just don't want to run into an employee on a payday Friday, that has ventured to the local pub, is getting a buzz on, and wearing our logo on their chest/jacket. I would like to reserve a little more couth, and carry themselves better than that, as while in uniform(especially with logo), you are still an ambassador to the company, off the clock or not.


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## kimberly worden (Apr 13, 2015)

See, the differences in opinion about what is professional or not confuses me. I went to a Le Cordon Bleu school and one of the biggest rules we had there was that during the cooking class hours, or any time that a uniform was worn in or outside of the class with the exception of changing clothes in your dorm room, you had to remain in full uniform. You could not even unbutton a button or untie the cravat, and the tope even had to be present. If you wanted to smoke, even. The apron, of course, had to be removed and placed on your assigned table not the prep tables but where we would take tests and write things down), along with the towels. But if we ever unbuttoned even one button, we were reprimanded for being unprofessional. If we decided to wear the coat to a gen ed class, we had to wear the coat, cravat, checked pants, shoes, and tope. ETC. If there was even a wrinkle in anything we wore, it reflected on our grades if it didn't get fixed. I guess it depends on where you are at as to what the health standards are or what they consider professional?


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## westbigballin (Jun 3, 2014)

Interesting opinions in here.

I wear my blacks and my cap (with my restaurant name on it) to/from work without a change of clothes. I don't want to ruin my street clothes with sweat and the smell of food, and my hat hair is messy so I keep the cap on.

I even go to restaurants after a long shift to eat dinner wearing the same clothes.

Most of the time I try to keep my jacket clean with an apron (which I always take off before stepping outside or going to the bathroom.

Everyone in my kitchen sometimes runs out to FOH bar to get beer or liquor for a recipe, but no one dolls themself up for doing so.

Employees do enter through a side/back door though. And my workplace allows employees to drink at the bar after shift in our jacket and hat, even though the company bylaws don't allow it (we are a more laid back concept of the restaurant ownership group). 

Shit, some of the big bosses have even come in and drank while working or pulled our Exec chef out to the bar to have a shot of Fireball or two while discussing daily matters.

I just have the mindset that I don't care what people think about me. Even though I like wearing my jacket, I don't like the way I look in it--all black, everything is super baggy on me.

Keep in mind that when I work out in the gym, I wear a shirt with the sleeves and sides cut off down to the waist band and I have usually have a nipple showing--which to some people is extremely douchey. 

Cliffs on my opinion:

-Do what you want, don't care about what other people think. Lion doesn't concern themselves with the opinions of sheep.

-And ultimately depends on where you work. My restaurant is pretty laid back.


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## canele (Apr 7, 2015)

I am all about....clean.

I do not want kitchen staff in street clothes or chef coats from home.  Linen service is a perk as far as i am concerned.... Chefs do not have to launder their clothing and a new clean set is provided every day.

The issue with wearing whites into work, in my opinion is..... chefs must be on site before their shift starts long enough to change. For some that is considered a hardship


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## supergirl (May 11, 2015)

I am a accomplished & passionate Chef that has fortunately been able to open my own restaurants and I proudly wear my Chefs Uniform everywhere I go from the moment I leave home. I have worked extremely hard to get to where I am today and absolutely love what I do so I have no problem with walking around anywhere with my Uniform on. As a matter of fact I am constantly getting a ton of people coming up to me striking up conversation wanting to know where I work and as a result I have had so many new customers dropping by. So it turns out it happens to be great marketing who would have thought that. I encourage my crew to wear their uniform with pride wherever they go too! I hate dirty whites though so if it isn't clean then please take it off asap and change it! My advice to all of you regardless of your kitchen experience is to always do what feels good to you & ultimately makes you happy.


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## chefboyog (Oct 23, 2013)

Its simple cross contamination.

I also dont want to ruin my personal washing machines. They clean uniforms thanksfully at my work. I M the only one getting my uniform laundered. Other people prefer to do laundry? I dont get it, never will and dont care why.

Change at work. Think of the cats dogs and god knows what else your co workers have in their apartments.

If I saw a cook in the " metro", or subway or bus ir whTever phblic transport, I would asume the poor sap doesnt have any clean streets to wear, not that they are pompous or anything. Been there.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Nope, not me. I change at work, and yes, I work alone and do all my laundry at home.

There's a couple of reasons WHY I don't wear chef's whites on the street...

-The first is, as many others have pointed out, cross contamination.  I can usually tell which customers have cats, which have dogs, and what colour their pets are.  Guess how I do that?  

-The second is that nasty bit of logic that dictates that if I was to wear whites before I got to work, then I'd have to wear the same whites back from work to home.  And I don't wanna do that


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

Well hmm...let's think outside the box a little....

I mean if you want both your walking-billboard-advertising AND your sanitation, you can have a

_galavanting-around _chef coat and when you get to your business, change into your nice clean _work _chef coat.

Off work, change to the PR coat, so you can stop off somewhere and drum up some more customers again.

Easy-pleasy! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Ahhh... the ol' *galavanting around Chef coat*..... Is that the one with the pseudo double breasted look but really basically a giant hoody you pull over, with the pattern of chilli peppers and crossed knives all down the front?


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## chefbuba (Feb 17, 2010)

I know someone that was just a hack cook that had a few bucks and no smarts that bought a rundown shit hole, ran it for about a year until he went belly up. He owned the building and did some low budget drop off catering a couple days a week after closing. He wore the galavanting around chef coat and the douche bag chili pepper pants 24/7 even when he wasn't cooking so that everyone knew that he was a "chef"


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

WOW.


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

Awww, you guys forgot to mention the gold piping and fancy monogrammed name and title.

I mean with a schmancy coat like that, you just KNOW they gotta be an awesome Chef, right?


chefbuba said:


> He wore the galavanting around chef coat and the douche bag chili pepper pants 24/7 even when he wasn't cooking so that everyone knew that he was a "chef"


And why not--cuz them Pepper-Pants don't show any muck or onion guts on 'em for at least a year or two.

At least he'd SMELL like he'd been cookin'. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/surprised.gif


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## alaminute (Aug 22, 2013)

You gotta have the gold piping and name embroidery, everyone knows that adds like a +10 to your cooking abilities


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Nahh.. the gold piping on the cuffs is so you don't wipe your nose on your sleeve, nothing to do with cooking....


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

This is going to be a little off topic but related. I've had this idea in the back of my mind for a long time. I sometimes watch the TV show

Shark Tank and it always pops in again.. I'm curious about Chefs Apparel. The industry is world wide with a huge market.

For years, the only offerings are usually cotton/poly blends. You can step up to 100% cotton or Egyptian cotton or organic if you go green. I'm pretty sure the only step outside the box is the spun/polys. For cooling they drill holes in the pits and maybe a flap in the back. Or you perspire

so much the moisture might provide a little relief.

   I can't understand why these Chef apparel manufactures don't go out and get a better material. I buy most of my shirts and jackets from Patagonia. They have products that are truly breathable. When you perspire, your sweat does not smell. It's starts to wreak when the bacteria starts to grow. Gross. They actually have a fabric that does not let your sweat smell. Does anyone out there know if someone is doing a coat like this? Maybe I should get a prototype made and go on the show.


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## westbigballin (Jun 3, 2014)

Unless your food is touching your jacket, why are you guys even worried about cross contamination?

Do you change your shoes too to prevent cross contamination? 

If you don't, why can you track in stuff from the street (like maybe mud or animal droppings) into your kitchen, but not walk around outside in your jacket which DOESN'T come into contact with sh*t on the ground?

If you do change your shoes... what makes a kitchen floor cleaner than the street?

Silly train of thought. Get off your high horse, and let people do what they want. I go out to restaurants after a 10 hour shift in my (black) jacket and pants and crocs with my restaurant cap on and I don't give a sh*t, and neither does anyone else.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

What high horse?  The standard is immaculate whites if you are to be seen in public.  It has been for since the dawn of time.


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## westbigballin (Jun 3, 2014)

kuan said:


> What high horse? The standard is immaculate whites if you are to be seen in public. It has been for since the dawn of time.


Referring to all the hardcore by-the-book traditionalists who say that you should never wear your chef jacket out in public on the street because its show offy or contaminated or whatever silly reason.

On the street, immaculate whites make me think "oh cool he's a chef," while dirty (but not TOO dirty) whites make me think "oh cool he actually cooks instead of sitting in an office all day." Black jackets, chalkstripe or houndstooth pants, or kitchen crocs also make me think "oh cool he cooks." I don't think of them to be better or worse because of the color of their jacket.

I see physicians walk on the street with their white coat on all the time and I don't think they're showing off or anything. They're just trying to get to one place to another... like from clinic to the hospital.

A stronger argument could be made against physicians wearing their white coats outside for fear of contamination / nonsterility too.

Keep thumping the book and getting angry, but at the end of the day you're (not you directly kuan) only wasting your time. What they wear on the street hardly has an effect on their cooking anyways, so get over it.


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## chefboyog (Oct 23, 2013)

westbigballin said:


> Referring to all the hardcore by-the-book traditionalists who say that you should never wear your chef jacket out in public on the street because its show offy or contaminated or whatever silly reason.
> 
> On the street, immaculate whites make me think "oh cool he's a chef," while dirty (but not TOO dirty) whites make me think "oh cool he actually cooks instead of sitting in an office all day." Black jackets, chalkstripe or houndstooth pants, or kitchen crocs also make me think "oh cool he cooks." I don't think of them to be better or worse because of the color of their jacket.
> 
> ...


Seems to me you are the one on a horse, high, maybe, and swearing, and ( apparantly) upset. Saying " Let people do what they want", while telling them what to do? Ha.

I do change my shoes at work also thank you very much for pointing that good policy out. I would suggest you do also and think abkut taking a food safety course while your at it.


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## supergirl (May 11, 2015)

It's good to see so many of our community getting involved in this conversation but can we all just agree to disagree without the claws coming out too much? It makes me sad to see anyone put down just because they don't agree with your point of view. At the end of the day it's not the clothes that makes the Chef its th Chef that makes the clothes. I have had Chefs that I have worked with that have had the look but didn't have the goods and vice versa. If you ask some Chef uniforms are a bit dated anyways and I know tons of restaurants these days where Chefs are rocking anything but Chef jackets in the kitchen. Again it depends where you work so I say to each to there own. As long as you are practicing all of your food safety and proper kitchen practices according to the law, meeting or exceeding your legal obligations whilst creating the most mouthwatering and amazingly killer dishes on the planet then come to work wearing a polka dot t-shirt that says I hate chef uniforms as far as I'm concerned[emoji]128522[/emoji] Just remember why you wanted to become a Chef in the first place because if it was just to wear a pretty little Chef Jacket I would suggest going back to basics and find your passion & true love for the craft again. In my opinion Artistic Expression is just as important as anything else when you are a chef. Lose that and all you have left is your Chefs Jacket[emoji]128521[/emoji]


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

supergirl said:


> It's good to see so many of our community getting involved in this conversation but can we all just agree to disagree without the claws coming out too much? It makes me sad to see anyone put down just because they don't agree with your point of view. At the end of the day it's not the clothes that makes the Chef its th Chef that makes the clothes. I have had Chefs that I have worked with that have had the look but didn't have the goods and vice versa. If you ask some Chef uniforms are a bit dated anyways and I know tons of restaurants these days where Chefs are rocking anything but Chef jackets in the kitchen. Again it depends where you work so I say to each to there own. As long as you are practicing all of your food safety and proper kitchen practices according to the law, meeting or exceeding your legal obligations whilst creating the most mouthwatering and amazingly killer dishes on the planet then come to work wearing a polka dot t-shirt that says I hate chef uniforms as far as I'm concerned[emoji]128522[/emoji] Just remember why you wanted to become a Chef in the first place because if it was just to wear a pretty little Chef Jacket I would suggest going back to basics and find your passion & true love for the craft again. In my opinion Artistic Expression is just as important as anything else when you are a chef. Lose that and all you have left is your Chefs Jacket[emoji]128521[/emoji]


Not sure about all that. No claws or anything.I just think it is a generational thing. When I came up, a uniform was a part of your operational tools. You groomed yourself and clothing just as you would your knifes.. course where I trained, a Chef was a respected and accredited profession. That's a while ago though. Heck, signs in our window telling of using real choco and not the crap that was being used in the states. Wow! that was off topic! Just like getting expelled from parochial school in the states for bringing in a ball point pen.

ps I'm not dining where the chef is wearing a polk-a-dot shirt! Now paisley, that is something else/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

westbigballin said:


> Unless your food is touching your jacket, why are you guys even worried about cross contamination?
> 
> Do you change your shoes too to prevent cross contamination?
> 
> ...


You wouldn't be the kind of guy who... nah, forget it. Well, no... I mean the kind of guy who um.... argues with a health inspector?

In my first post, I bragged that I could tell which customers had pets, and what colour their pets are, dwell on this for a moment.

And I don't take public transportation anymore since the day I leaned back in a seat and my shirt stuck, 'cause the last person who used the seat was dumpster diver and that is where he parked his sticky, stinky garbage bag of pop cans.

\Whaddarewe gonna argue about next? The "10 second" rule when food drops to the floor?

P


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## chefboyog (Oct 23, 2013)

supergirl said:


> As long as you are practicing all of your food safety and proper kitchen practices according to the law, meeting or exceeding your legal obligations whilst creating the most mouthwatering and amazingly killer dishes on the planet then come to work wearing a polka dot t-shirt that says I hate chef uniforms as far as I'm concerned[emoji]128522[/emoji]


Then you would not be meeting basic legal obligations, in my area.


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## supergirl (May 11, 2015)

chefboyOG said:


> Then you would not be meeting basic legal obligations, in my area.


 It definitely varies from place to place but that being said what is legal and not legal can always be open to interpretation. Btw for the record I never said that I don't wear my full uniform in the kitchen because the simple fact is that I always do and all of my crew are also required to do so. If they are not wearing their uniform means they are not working and that's not open for discussion. The bottom line is I was merely giving my opinion on wearing uniforms in general because I doubt there is many chefs out there that wear uniforms at home while cooking or believe their super powers come from there uniform. When I am at home I do my best cooking in the nude but that would never happen in my restaurant... safety reasons haha[emoji]128541[/emoji]


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## westbigballin (Jun 3, 2014)

Think about the logic behind your arguments.

Wearing a chef jacket in to work from the outside environment is bad because of "cross contamination"

Say you take public transportation and you sit on a smelly seat or you walk and pass by a few polluting semitrucks. The odor gets on you.

HOW does that cross contaminate the food you're cooking? Are you RUBBING THE FOOD on your clothes? Wouldn't your breathing or bad breath also cross contaminate food because of the proximity and air circulation? I've yet to see chefs work with respirators.

After a few hours in the kitchen, unless you sit in the office all day (in which case you have no case for arguing for food cross contamination when you don't go anywhere near food in the first place), you probably work up a sweat and start to smell b/c of it or from smoke from the grill and whatnot. Or maybe you're a cigarette smoker and the smell may cling to your clothes.

Wouldn't that also cross contaminate your clothes, if you believe that outside odors can contaminate food?

What I'm getting at is that the cross contamination argument is so flawed and nonsensical. There are just as many contaminants outside the kitchen as there are inside the kitchen (raw chicken anyone?)

You can't pick and choose when it's convenient to play the "cross contamination" card, like when it only applies to your jacket (which should have no business touching food). Just wear an apron and change it out every few hours...


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

In my city we have a notorious problem with canker worms... they are worms that hang from silk threads attached to tree branches. ergo I change when I get to work in the summer. Also in the fall there are rotting leaves and stuff like that falling from the trees. Those are two examples of things worse than an odour or dust particles. I'll admit it's going a little overboard to claim that you're going to make people sick by wearing your whites/blacks around town, however, I think it's just a good practice not to. I am usually embarrassed to wear dirty uniforms in public.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Look, I'm gonna be completely honest and lay all my cards on the table, O.K.?

About 5 years ago we got a puppy, a lab/chow cross.  Cuter than all heck, with very fine, black hair.

I o/o a small business, and I do my uniforms at home, O.K.?  Doesn't make sense for a uniform co. to do it since they are based on volume, and there's only me in the kitchen.  But I do wear a uniform in the kitchen- a clean one every day, and I change in washroom.

About 4 mths after we get the dog, the hair starts showing up in my kitchen.  The dog's never been near the business--ever.  Looking around at home I notice there is dog hair is in the dryer lint trap, heck there's hair all over the house and, of course, in the car.

I can't tell employees to get rid of their pets, but I can tell them not to enter my premises with cat hair or dog hair all over their coats or sweaters.  Matter of fact I've told one or two customers with pet hair flying off their coats that too. 

Am I being a sphincter muscle for doing this, or just looking after my business and reputation?

Is pet hair poisonous? Will it contaminate?

Dunno, don't care. 

But I do know if a customer finds pet hair in their food(regardless of where it came from....) all hell will break loose and I will have to pay for something--if not "eating" the cost for their purchases, then certainly fined for having animal hair in my premises.

I don't go "gallivanting" around town in a Chef's coat.  I shop locally and during business hours, but I'll always change into street clothes if I do this.  And I'm always in street clothes when I'm meeting retail customers, doing deliveries, or stocking shelves in customer's stores. This is how I choose to represent my business, and it is how I want any future employees to do so.  One of my main reasons for doing this has nothing to do with hygiene, it's to avoided being "made" as the chocolate shop owner and then getting hit up for every kind of charity imaginable. 

I hope I've made my view clear....


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## chefboyog (Oct 23, 2013)

westbigballin said:


> Think about the logic behind your arguments.....
> 
> I've yet to see chefs work with respirators.....
> 
> What I'm getting at is that the cross contamination argument is so flawed and nonsensical.....


I will post references to my logic sometime when I have a few more minutes for you.

Im not arguing just stating facts trying to help out, free advice.

If you want you can pm me and I can sign you up for foodsafe, I think you need it. You can pay me for more specific advice, a textbook, and a proctored foodsafe exam. The jacket thing is part of the material covered, like it or not.



foodpump said:


> Is pet hair poisonous? Will it contaminate?
> 
> Dunno, don't care.


Don't care if you care but I'm going to give you an answer anyway, yes they can contaminate food with bacteria, whick can then poison somebody.

Good post @foodpump. Many thoughtful points, especially customer finding and suing you! Also being made as the chocolate man haha.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

chefboyOG said:


> I can sign you up for foodsafe, I think you need it. You can pay me for more specific advice, a textbook, and a proctored foodsafe exam. The jacket thing is part of the material covered, like it or not.


Pay special attention to mold spores and how easily they become airborne....


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

When you're riding the bus in whites, eating a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich on wheat bread, chugging a beer, just remember this is what the FDA (TFDAL) allows in your food.


Chocolate and chocolate liquor 

Insect filth

Average is 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams (when 6 100 g subsamples are examined)

Peanut butter

Insect filth

Average of 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams

Wheat flour

Insect filth

Average of 150 or more insect fragments per 100 grams

Hops

Insects

Average of more than 3,500 aphids per 10 grams

This doesn't include the rodent hair and droppings./img/vbsmilies/smilies/licklips.gif

OH._*The Food Defect Action Levels: Levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods that present no health hazards for humans*_ is a publication of the United States Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition[sup][1][/sup] detailing acceptable levels of food contamination from sources such as maggots, thrips, insect fragments, "foreign matter", mold, rodent hairs, and insect and mammalian feces.


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## chefwolverine (May 15, 2015)

Rock your whites everywhere. People respect it...


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## meezenplaz (Jan 31, 2012)

Sure there are facts and figures for everything, including maximum allowable yuck.
There are bound to be a degree of contaminants in natural products like
wheat...yet people freak when a gnat flies in from out of town and lands in their soup
or they find one boweevil exploring the interior of their bisquit. We're peculiar 
psychological creatures.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Thats not my point. If some jerk brings his dog into my store, someone else snaps a pic and complains, its me, the business owner who gets a Cdn $113.00 fine. * If animal hair is found in any of my food products, its me the business owner who will have hell to pay regardless to the source of animal hair.

What Im saying is to be smart and avoid as many problems as you can. Uniforms is only one small thing, but easily doable.


*If some (deleted) smokes in my shop or within 10 meters of my doors or windows, I get a $500 fine. How this discourages that behavior is beyond me, I cant pass the fine off to the (delted)


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

panini said:


> When you're riding the bus in whites, eating a peanut butter and chocolate sandwich on wheat bread, chugging a beer, just remember this is what the FDA (TFDAL) allows in your food.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


whats the logic here... there's already contaminants in our food so we should do all we can to increase the number of foreign particles in our workspace? 

what's more this document doesn't seem to specify averages or what the counts might be "in the wild"... ergo I'd have to assume the figures given above are the threshold at which the product becomes unsaleable-- which means it's saying nothing of what's actually in your food.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

There is no logic, dah.

Shouldn't have to translate this "Document", you should be well aware of it if you are in food service/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

I will say, we were shocked when the NASA Hubble Telescope when down. We have since installed a 'Clean Room' before entering the kitchen. We built it according to the

Federal Standard 209E










Preparing crepes.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

This is for @foodpump

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/...ants_n_7292074.html?utm_hp_ref=taste&ir=Taste

/img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif/img/vbsmilies/smilies/lol.gif


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## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

No offense mate but with you lackadaisical attitude toward high standard foodsafe practices... I would not be ordering anything from the actual business that you actually own that you're actually advertising in your signature!


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Well I'm sorry, was I talking to you?

1. you ACTUALLY need to have a sense of humor to be served in our place, mate.

2. I don't advertise here or anywhere for that matter. Don't need to. Own? I just work for that company.

3. Not the first time you've gotten personal

4. That lackadaisical attitude earned us a H. Dept. score of 97. 3pt off for a piece of cardboard near a vent. If you're so interested in me, our scores are posted.

5. Starting a spout with "no offense" is a sure sign that there is a lack of Kahonas involved.

I thought I posted to FP who has been around here for a long time and enjoys a little humor.

Sorry, just realized, why am I was wasting my time with you/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

Shouldn't you be working?


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## kostendorf (Mar 15, 2012)

i Change my clothes at work.  wash my uniforms at work, many Business in Salzburg have their own washing machines.  i do this for the respect of the uniform.  to reduce the use and make it longer Lasting.  also when i go cruising after work i would  only meet fat chicks because i would  smell like Food.


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## canele (Apr 7, 2015)

foodpump said:


> You wouldn't be the kind of guy who... nah, forget it. Well, no... I mean the kind of guy who um.... argues with a health inspector?
> 
> In my first post, I bragged that I could tell which customers had pets, and what colour their pets are, dwell on this for a moment.
> 
> ...


just as an aside.... yep, i argued with the health inspector and asked him to leave. He was in my kitchen without a chef coat, no hat or covering on his beard./img/vbsmilies/smilies/thumb.gif

GET OUT!


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## canele (Apr 7, 2015)

ChefWolverine said:


> Rock your whites everywhere. People respect it...


i do rock my whites everywhere...... just remember not to do it the day before thanksgiving... lol.

that being said....i wear them like clothes when needed outside the kitchen. The whites i wear out are not the whites ill cook in. Clean or not.... whites i wear outside are changed.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

*LOL.*

_You *GO!*_ Panini.


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## panini (Jul 28, 2001)

Yea, just figured we were in a forum where all would know about food Safety, but I guess we should clarify for those who don't that may be reading. Anyone who classifies themselves as a professional should understands the importance of Food Safety.


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## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

I think now would be a good time to drop the issue.  I am having the last word here and the last word is stop.  Do not post anything else on this thread or you will get an infraction.


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## leeniek (Aug 21, 2009)

I work in a food production plant so our uniforms are brought in and we are not allowed to wear them outside at all....


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## leeniek (Aug 21, 2009)

OMG sorry Kuan!!!

I didn't see your post until I sent mine in...guess I need to learn to read the whole thread before replying.... so very sorry!!!!!!!!


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