Chef jackets are amongst the most highly distinctive items of clothing in the world however, many of those who don’t work as chefs (and even those who do) have no idea why they are normally white! In fact, we get asked this question so much, we thought we would take the time to examine the many reasons that chefs wear white uniforms.
Chef jackets are amongst the most highly distinctive items of clothing in the world however, many of those who don’t work as chefs (and even those who do) have no idea why they are normally white! In fact, we get asked this question so much, we thought we would take the time to examine the many reasons that chefs wear white uniforms.
Do all chefs really wear white?
The simple answer to this is no, they do not. In fact, some companies produce a wide range of coloured chef jackets to caterer for individual tastes. Tibard for instance, manufacturer black, blue and navy chef jackets for a variety of our larger clients like TGI Fridays and Beefeater.
On our website, you may notice that our chef jackets are all listed in white. The reason for this is that while some chefs do wear coloured jackets, almost 90% of the chef jackets that we make are still just plain white. So why is this the case? Well, we need to look back over 100 years to find out!
The history of white chef jackets
was the first to use white chef jackets.
Carême is generally considered to be the first of the celebrity chefs and is often credited with turning food into a higher art form. He was said to have chosen white for the chef uniform he wore and used in his kitchens because white represented cleanliness, an import sign especially given the times he cooked in, as disease was rife.
The chef uniform was said to have been first brought to London by Auguste Escoffier, who was then managing the Savoy and Carlton Hotels in the city. The rest, as they say, is history and restaurants across the world quickly adopted and upheld the tradition of wearing white clothing.
So why do chefs still wear white?
There are many answers as to why chef uniforms have remained largely unchanged, certainly in terms of colour, over the past 100 years. Arguably, the main reason that chefs still wear white is because of tradition. The wearing of a white chef jacket is so intrinsically linked to what it is to be a chef that there is little reason to change from this tradition. There are of course other, more functional reasons, as to why white is still worn.
The most commonly cited reason as to why white is the best is that it is the most reflective colour which means that the heat radiating in a kitchen can be reflected away from the wearer. The white colour effectively stops heat from being absorbed and therefore it is the coolest possible colour that can be worn.
White is also incredible easy to clean (find our more from our previous article on cleaning chef whites) and it can be cleaned an awful lot as there are no colours to fade. When frequently washed in a commercial laundry, even the most premium coloured fabrics will lose colour over time, white chef uniforms avoid this problem easily.