How to Choose the Best Chef Uniforms

Cook with style & stay safe

Choosing the best chef uniforms for your business is simple once you know what to look for. You’ll need a mix of durable coats, loose-fitting pants and non-slip shoes. Each piece of clothing needs to be breathable and comfortable since your staff will be wearing them in hot environments for hours at a time. You can even add restaurant branding if you want to build back-of-house solidarity. With the right uniforms, your kitchen staff can create memorable meals in style.

What to look for in chef uniforms

While there are thousands of ways to customize chef uniforms, all good uniforms will have a few traits in common:

• Comfort: Chefs have difficult, physically demanding jobs. They have to stand for extended periods of time, carry heavy ingredients and bend forward when they cook. Comfortable clothing can make the job a bit easier.

• Breathability: Between ovens, burners and dishwashers, kitchens can get pretty hot. Chefs are going to sweat no matter what, but light, breathable fabrics can help keep them cool and focused.

• Functionality: From spoons to notebooks, chefs have to carry a lot of stuff around the kitchen. Large, easily accessible pockets are a must for most kitchen uniforms. Front-facing buttons and drawstrings also make clothing easier to put on.

• Durability and safety: Knives and fire are indispensable in a professional kitchen, but they’re not especially good for clothing—or for people. A chef’s uniform needs to be made of strong, protective materials to resist cuts and burns. 

You may also want to invest in branded clothing with your restaurant’s name or logo on it. This approach has pros and cons. While your staff will look like a cohesive team, branded gear may also be more expensive. Furthermore, chefs may be less willing to invest in something that they can’t take from job to job. You could split the difference by encouraging your staff to coordinate amongst themselves. The white chef’s coat and checkered pants are classics for a reason, but there’s a much larger range of colors and styles available today. 

Want your restaurant to stand out from the crowd? Read Creating a Strong Brand Identity: 7 Tips for Small Business Owners.

A piece-by-piece breakdown of a chef’s uniform

There are three main components in a chef’s uniform: coat, pants and shoes. A chef’s coat helps keep kitchen staff safe, but also provides a distinctive look. The right pair of kitchen pants should be comfortable and flexible. Shoes need to have non-slip soles to prevent falls, even on wet floors.

Kitchen gloves are not usually part of a chef’s outfit, since bare hands are better for most cooking tasks. However, kitchens do need disposable gloves for sanitary food handling. Any set of heavy-duty nitrile gloves should work well.

Chefs also need head coverings for both comfort and health reasons. They need to keep sweat and hair out of their eyes—and out of patrons’ food. Anything from a bandana to a traditional chef’s toque should work fine. If you want your team to match, branded baseball caps are an easy way to get everyone on the same page.

Accounting for food allergies is an important part of kitchen safety. Check out How to Manage Food Allergies in the Workplace to learn more.

Chef coats

A chef’s coat is probably the most distinctive part of a kitchen outfit. Professional cooks have been wearing some variation of the double-breasted, button-down white coat for hundreds of years. Many modern chef coats still look the same, although you can buy them in a wider variety of colors and materials.

Whether you go classic or traditional, be sure to pick a coat with breathable, durable fabric. The best choices are generally cotton, polyester or a blend of the two. You can also get either long-sleeve or short-sleeve coats, but the “right” choice depends on what each individual chef prefers.

While it’s traditional for the head chef to wear a coat, some line cooks wear kitchen work shirts instead. The only major difference between coats and shirts is that shirts tend to be single-breasted. You should still look for cotton or polyester fabrics, but the rest is down to personal preference.

Kitchen work pants

Kitchen work pants need to be breathable, loose-fitting and easy to remove. Breathability is a comfort issue, as kitchens get pretty hot. Ease of removal is a safety issue. If a chef spills something hot on their clothing—particularly oil—they need to take the garment off as quickly as possible to avoid injury.

 
The loose-fitting quality is a mix of comfort and safety. Chefs need to be able to kneel, bend and stretch as they gather ingredients and cook meals. They also won’t want their clothing sticking to them if they need to remove it in a hazardous situation.

Kitchen work shoes

No matter how clean you keep your kitchen, sooner or later, the floor is going to get wet. Between spills, condensation and overflow, it’s bound to happen. Having the right footwear can be the difference between a wet sole and a painful fall.

Luckily, non slip shoes for kitchen use are the rule, not the exception. Look for shoes with rubber soles, as well as those with a “non slip” description in the product listing. For the main body of the shoe, leather and similar materials can resist water and oil. You may also want to consider slip-on shoes rather than ones with laces. Long or untied shoelaces are a tripping hazard, particularly in kitchens where the staff has to walk back and forth constantly.

Looking for a restaurant business supplier? Learn How Walmart Business Helps You Save Time & Money.

Serve up style with Walmart Business

Once you know what to look for, your restaurant’s chef uniforms can keep your staff comfortable, motivated and safe. If you’re in the market for professional workwear, make Walmart Business your first stop.

Sign up for a free Walmart Business account and you’ll be able to buy goods in bulk, saving time and hassle. You can also share an account among multiple users, making it simple for multiple restaurant staff members to order the uniform components they need.

If you already have an account, then upgrade to a Walmart Business+ membership. With it, you’ll get free shipping on Business.Walmart.com¹ and free delivery from nearby Walmart stores on orders of $35 or more.² You’ll also earn 2% back in Walmart Rewards on orders of $250 or more.³ Altogether, your restaurant could save more than $500 per year.⁴

¹ Excludes most Marketplace items, freight and certain location surcharges.

² Restrictions apply. 

³ Rewards can only be used toward future purchases on Walmart Business. Additional terms apply.

⁴ Savings based on 1 free $35+ delivery order vs. $9.95 fee and 1 free shipping order under $35 vs. $6.99 fee biweekly, plus 2% Walmart Business Rewards on monthly order >$250 (average value of $400).