Chef Jacket - Protection and elegance

I am amazed at the difference in modern chef jackets compared with those that I first wore - mind you that was many years ago - 42 in fact.

The first chef jacket that I ever donned was made from a thick cotton material that had a traditional design. The chef jacket had developed over the previous 100 years or so and was considered to be practical. The front of the chef jacket was double breasted and each of the overlapping lapels was made of double thickness material. Hence the chef jacket front has 4 thicknesses of cloth. The practical benefit of this was that the material served to insulate the body from the heat of the stove. A major additional factor was that should any fluid, soup, water etc be splashed on the front it would run off.

The buttons on the chef jacket were often made from a soft rubber for 2 reasons - they do not conduct heat to the body beneath and they are flexible so that should the chef jacket be burned or soaked in hot liquid it can be torn off rapidly.

The sleeves of the chef jacket are cut with a generous length and have a double cuff which is usually turned back when working. The sleeves of the chef jacket are also quite loose which means that they can be rolled back when washing up or cleaning. There is also he advantage that once again the chef jacket can be shed very quickly when a dangerous situation occurs. It is very important that the sleeves are not rolled back when cooking as they are designed to protect the arms and wrists from contact with the oven. Most burns in kitchens are horizontal across the back of the hand, wrist and lower arm where these come into contact with the oven roof or sides when removing a dish. These injuries are all preventable when the chef jacket is worn correctly.

The chef jacket was also one color - white, one shape - baggy, and came in standard sizes. The sizing was such that a chef who was rotund inevitably wore a chef jacket with overlong sleeves and gave the impression of a gorilla. The chef jacket was also starched to such an extent that these chef jackets could often stand upright when unworn. They were very heavy, stiff, made from coarse material akin to sacking and relatively expensive. A traditional chef jacket was not a comfortable item to wear.

Now, in the era of the celebrity chef or TV chef, the chef jacket is becoming more of a fashion item. The chef jacket is now made to order, if required, and cut to suit the chef and can have colors inset and the name of the restaurant and the chef embroidered on the placket. The chef originally was very much a backroom boy and was not seen therefore his chef jacket was not seen but now the rise of the TV chef means that the chef is seen more frequently in the dining room and now they all seem to insist on wearing a designer chef jacket. The variety and colors that chef jackets come in is staggering. There are most of the primary colors, with chef jackets coming with both long or short sleeves and it is even possible to get contrast colored piping and pin stripes.

The basic, traditional Chef jacket also has dropped in price which is reflected by the manufacture and is in my opinion less safe.