Chef's Coats are Better than Aprons

[Anna N]

I always wear an apron around the house, cooking or not - shows you just how old I am! But, I've been eyeing lab coats and those green surgical shirts as alternatives - any thoughts?

I'd love to get my hands on some white cotton aprons that I can bleach but so far, the only place I have seen them is in a catalogue for professionals.

Anna N

[Fat Guy]

In a professional kitchen, yes: coat, waist apron, towel, and headgear. In a home-cooking situation, the coat alone tends to be quite sufficient even for heavy cooking.

An apron provides protection primarily from mess. A coat provides actual protection -- from both mess and burns -- for the entire torso.

There are very lightweight cotton-poly blend coats available for $13-$15. Just check http://www.chefwork.com -- that's where I get all my stuff.

[Louisa Chu]

I'd love to get my hands on some white cotton aprons that I can bleach but so far, the only place I have seen them is in a catalogue for professionals.

Anna N

He's got them. I'll let him know about this thread - if he's not lurking already.

[fresco]

Anna,

I don't know whether you ever venture into Fortune Housewares on Spadina below College, but they have white cotton aprons for next to nothing. It's a popular spot for George Brown College cooking students.

[Fat Guy]

Would anybody be interested in buying an eGullet-logo chef's coat? We could probably arrange it with one of the uniform suppliers. If we could sell maybe a hundred of them it would be worth our while to set up an embroidered logo and deal with the administrative crap.

[Holly Moore]

Would anybody be interested in buying an eGullet-logo chef's coat? We could probably arrange it with one of the uniform suppliers. If we could sell maybe a hundred of them it would be worth our while to set up an embroidered logo and deal with the administrative crap.

Perhaps available only to those who attend the eGullet Culinary Institute?

[Andy Lynes]

Oh, its a jacket! I was imagining something like lab coat! I've aquired a couple of these from working in kitchens and from competitons. I very rarely wear them at home, seems pretentious somehow, although they are extremely practical.

[GordonCooks]

I own a couple of coats due the fact I'm an occasional volunteer in friend's restaurants. I don't think I would feel comfortable wearing it outside of those situations. Although it's a pragmatic kitchen tool, I consider the coat a uniform for those in the trade and I think I would feel a little pompous sporting one around my own dinner party

[Fat Guy]

By the same logic, do you avoid the use of professional-quality knives, cookware, etc.? It seems to me that the chef's coat is a tool. The part of it that makes it a uniform is the part that says "Joe's Restaurant, Executive Chef." As long as you're not parading around in a Babbo coat that says you're Mario Batali, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Anna N]

Anna,

I don't know whether you ever venture into Fortune Housewares on Spadina below College, but they have white cotton aprons for next to nothing. It's a popular spot for George Brown College cooking students.

Get into TO maybe once a year - if I'm lucky - but will keep your post and next time I am down there I will check into it. Thanks very much.

Anna N

[davidthomas8779]

By the same logic, do you avoid the use of professional-quality knives, cookware, etc.? It seems to me that the chef's coat is a tool. The part of it that makes it a uniform is the part that says "Joe's Restaurant, Executive Chef." As long as you're not parading around in a Babbo coat that says you're Mario Batali, I wouldn't worry about it.

So you're saying that I shouldn't be running around in my e-Gullet chef's coat with the embroidered "Fat Guy" on it?

[hjshorter]

I have a bad habit of wiping my hands on my apron.  If the apron isn't there...

...it goes right on your bare thighs. Exactly! That's what I'm sayin!

I just choked on my diet root beer.

[Jinmyo]

As long as you're not parading around in a Babbo coat that says you're Mario Batali, I wouldn't worry about it.

Oops.

[hollywood]

As long as you're not parading around in a Babbo coat that says you're Mario Batali, I wouldn't worry about it.

Oops.

Jin, I think it would be kinda cool if you had a Mario coat. Now if it was a Chef/Writer Spencer coat.....

[A Scottish Chef]

I've got a couple of good chef's aprons, and they're fine...but they don't give any protection to my arms

Most of the chefs I work with roll their jacket sleeves up anyway. Everyone wants to look like our hero - Gordon Ramsay. The ambulance guy...

[NeroW]

hot oil welts are not fun. 

Come on--sure they are.

[Basildog]

The big advantage of chefs jackets are the double breasted thing.When you get too filthy, button it up the other way...hey presto clean jacket.

Marco Pierre White once said that all his chefs wear the blue striped 'butchers' aprons because they were all commis, still learning.He also dislike chefs having they names on the jacket, dismissing it as too pretenious.I have always like my name on the jacket,along with the resturant name...shows a bit of pride in what you do.

We all wear a light blue apron, because i picked some up cheap, and blue is our colour.Apart from Dor, who wears a floral apron, a present from an egulllet member

[A Scottish Chef]

The big advantage of chefs jackets are the double breasted thing.When you get too filthy, button it up the other way...hey presto clean jacket.

Now that's a neat trick. How you keep the splashes restricted the V panel between then buttons? Is it like a series of dance moves

[gknl]

The part of it that makes it a uniform is the part that says "Joe's Restaurant, Executive Chef." As long as you're not parading around in a Babbo coat that says you're Mario Batali, I wouldn't worry about it.

People buy sports teams sweaters and jerseys and caps, why not chef's coats too?

[Basildog]

V shaped?..Our jackets have parallel buttons, so you have a good 6 inches to aim for

[NeroW]

The big advantage of chefs jackets are the double breasted thing.When you get too filthy, button it up the other way...hey presto clean jacket.

Oh, man.

Thanks Basildog!

I can't believe I've not thought of this yet.

[kitwilliams]

I have a bad habit of wiping my hands on my apron.  If the apron isn't there...

...it goes right on your bare thighs. Exactly! That's what I'm sayin!

I just choked on my diet root beer.

What brand?

sorry. thought this was the root beer thread.

Back to the topic: any women reading this: do you wear chef's coats which are tailored for women? I've tried a couple but haven't found one that fits me properly (yes, yes, I am a woman!). I like the idea of them because wearing the traditional chef's coat (tailored for men, of course) and then tieing an apron over it there is a lot of excess fabric. Does this bother anyone else?

[Jinmyo]

V shaped?..Our jackets have parallel buttons, so you have a good 6 inches to aim for

Hm. Seems some people do not yet have a Margot Cam running continuously on their desktop. Not to name names.

[NeroW]

I like the idea of them because wearing the traditional chef's coat (tailored for men, of course) and then tieing an apron over it there is a lot of excess fabric.  Does this bother anyone else?

You mean the excess fabric that sticks out over your butt?

[Jinmyo]

Back to the topic:  any women reading this:  do you wear chef's coats which are tailored for women?  I've tried a couple but haven't found one that fits me properly (yes, yes, I am a woman!).  I like the idea of them because wearing the traditional chef's coat (tailored for men, of course) and then tieing an apron over it there is a lot of excess fabric.  Does this bother anyone else?

I know what you mean. One has to gather the fabric at the back in a rough pleat between the fingers when beginning to don apron. But my stuff is tailored.