When it comes to cooking or serving food, the uniform is an important aspect of both back of house and front of house staff, because no matter what you do or how careful you are, there will be spills and splashes. This is why a Chef Apron is very important for back of house staff to wear over their standard uniform, and the same is true for servers and waiters as well.
Since Chefs are always in a busy kitchen with open fires, stoves that are eternally on, and also sharp knives and utensils that could be hazardous, additional protection is a must. A chef’s apron, known as Bib Aprons, usually covers the wearer from the upper body up to the knees. For front of house staff such as waiters and servers however, the apron’s coverage is from the waist down, and can be either short or long, these are known as Waist Aprons. Bistro Aprons and most Server Aprons are either short or long, but for greater elegance and style some restaurants prefer the longer style.
So how often should a chef replace their uniforms and aprons?
It will depend solely on the chef! Most Chefs still prefer to wear white chef coats and uniforms because white is easier to bleach if they stain. One thing to remember when buying a chef uniform or chef apron, is to get very high-quality products from a reputed manufacturer, which will retain its color and endure many washes. While wearing aprons protects the uniform itself, some chain restaurants usually replace their staff uniforms every year, and give 2-3 sets of uniforms to each staff member, however on a personal level very busy chefs may even replace their jackets or coats once in every six months. However, most chefs have admitted that they would never throw away their old uniform, because these are great for wearing in the everyday kitchen.
