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Idle Curiosity... Chef's Fashion

eJulia

By eJulia
in Restaurant Life

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eJulia

eJulia

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I am curious... when Emeril opens his "Emeril Live" show, he enters wearing what appears to be a suit coat over his chef's whites...

I have never seen another chef do this - and it seems sort of illogical. Aren't chef's whites made of a relatively sturdy (read thick) fabric? It seems they also have somewhat loose wrists - not cuffed and buttoned like dress shirts... would this not make it difficult to pull such a suit coat on?

My question to the chefs and experts out there is... does anyone else sport this fashion? I can understand an overcoat or jacket for venturing outside, and obviously not wearing the suit coat in the kitchen, but do chefs/exec chefs wear this ensemble to business meetings or to media interviews/photo ops?

Or... is just an "Emeril" for the purposes of TV?

This thread is NOT intended to endorse or provide a forum for Emeril bashing or adoration... please restrain yourselves!!! :raz:

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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Gifted Gourmet

Gifted Gourmet

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a suit coat over his chef's whites...Aren't chef's whites made of a relatively sturdy (read thick) fabric?

Emeril bashing or adoration... please restrain yourselves!!!  :raz:

I imagine that he has a much thinner set of chef's whites on under the coat because (a) he knows that the jacket will be removed and (b) that he is under hot lights plus the heat of the cooking ... probably made especially for him, given those circumstances ...

real working chefs need a sturdy set of chef's whites because they have to wear them for longer periods of time than Emeril does for a taping .. and most real chefs don't wear a lot of stage makeup either ... :wink:

and, when I read your last sentence, I thought the word was "re-train" ... :laugh::laugh:

Melissa Goodman aka "Gifted Gourmet"

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Jmahl

Jmahl

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Why not ask Emeril, I did. Ask Emeril My guess. its just a T.V. thing.

Jmahl

The Philip Mahl Community teaching kitchen is now open. Check it out. "Philip Mahl Memorial Kitchen" on Facebook. Website coming soon.

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eJulia

eJulia

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Thanks for inquiring on behalf of this thread... I'll still be curious if you get an answer.

Don't know why I find this interesting.... I'm just curious everytime I see it..

Given the lack of responses, I feel like most of you are thinking "who cares?" I understand this reaction... I have no reason to understand why Emeril dresses as he does - or whether other chefs do the same - I'm just CURIOUS! :shock:

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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Sugarella

Sugarella

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He doesn't wear the chef's whites under his suit jacket. He wears a dress shirt under the jacket like normal, then while the band is playing he removes the jacket and puts on the chef's whites over the dress shirt, then adds a waist apron. He even has an assistant to help him tie it in front. Am I the only one who's ever seen this!?

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zilla369

zilla369

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He doesn't wear the chef's whites under his suit jacket. He wears a dress shirt under the jacket like normal, then while the band is playing he removes the jacket and puts on the chef's whites over the dress shirt, then adds a waist apron. He even has an assistant to help him tie it in front. Am I the only one who's ever seen this!?

Sugarella, I think you're right. I know at a couple of conventions I went to, everyone wore a dress shirt (and tie!) under their chef's jacket. I've sported that look a couple times myself - very professional. There's even a special way to iron the back of your chef's jacket for convention meetings, in certain circles. Silly rituals, I guess - but no worse than any other professional group.

Marsha Lynch aka "zilla369"

Has anyone ever actually seen a bandit making out?

Uh-huh: just as I thought. Stereotyping.

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Jmahl

Jmahl

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Thanks for inquiring on behalf of this thread... I'll still be curious if you get an answer.

Don't know why I find this interesting.... I'm just curious everytime I see it..

Given the lack of responses, I feel like most of you are thinking "who cares?"  I understand this reaction... I have no reason to understand why Emeril dresses as he does - or whether other chefs do the same - I'm just CURIOUS!  :shock:

No reply yet. I suspect that we will not hear anything until next week when there is someone in the office.

The Philip Mahl Community teaching kitchen is now open. Check it out. "Philip Mahl Memorial Kitchen" on Facebook. Website coming soon.

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andrewB

andrewB

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real working chefs need a sturdy set of chef's whites because they have to wear them for longer periods of time than Emeril does for a taping .. and most real chefs don't wear a lot of stage makeup either ... :wink:

I think you hit the nail on the head with the idea of "real working chefs." for my line cooks i have a cotton/poly blend which is more wear resistant while i slink around in egyptian cotton :o) Chef Works makes some of the best working coats on the market. Pants could be a whole other thread, but my humble opinion is Chef Wear makes the best pants...

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eJulia

eJulia

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Sugarella... I've seen the assistants help him tie his apron, but not help him either remove the suitcoat or put on the chefs whites...

And I thought I've seen the "E" logo under the suitcoat leading me to believe it was from his whites...

Guess what I've learned is this an "emeril-ism", not a standard practice, regardless of how he actually pulls it off!

Gotta love Food TV! :biggrin:

I'd still like to hear his reply when you get it, Jmahl!

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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eJulia

eJulia

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Oops, sorta misunderstood Zilla369's post...

Dress shirt and tie under chef's whites? Quite a surprise to us non-pro folks.. thanks for the info.

If chefs don't wear chef's whites out of the kitchen, what do they wear after a shift, before they go home? Are restaurants responsible for laundering chef wear (ala scrubs in hospitals?)

What do most chefs wear under the whites?

Again, I'll never be a pro chef or CIA student, I'm just curious!

"Anybody can make you enjoy the first bite of a dish, but only a real chef can make you enjoy the last.”

Francois Minot

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andrewB

andrewB

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Oops, sorta misunderstood Zilla369's post...

Dress shirt and tie under chef's whites?  Quite a surprise to us non-pro folks.. thanks for the info.

If chefs don't wear chef's whites out of the kitchen, what do they wear after a shift, before they go home?  Are restaurants responsible for laundering chef wear (ala scrubs in hospitals?) 

What do most chefs wear under the whites?

Again, I'll never be a pro chef or CIA student, I'm just curious!

we usually wear a t-shirt under :o)) some restaurants have showers (bonus), but mostly we waer 'street clothes' in and change after. Some jobs i've had i did motor around town in my whites going to purveyors as i was not in the mood to change garb...

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jgarner53

jgarner53

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Working in a bakery, I'm responsible for laundering my whites. They do aprons and side towels. My jackets and pants are my responsibility.

Even if it is 5am, I come in to work in jeans and a t-shirt, or whatever's weather appropriate, and change into my work clothes there. Cold weather can have me in two or three layers under my jacket (which has short sleeves), regardless of the temp in the kitchen.

I don't even really like walking out to check on my car (to move it to avoid ticketing) in my whites, but it ain't worth it to change for 5 minutes!

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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joiei

joiei

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Care of uniforms varies from restaurant to restaurant. I have never observed an industry standard in regards to this area. And some even require that everyone buy their own uniforms as an incentive to keep them clean during service. Aprons and bar towels most often are laundered by the restaurant. Then they issue just enough for you to get through service to keep waste down. It is a cost issue that can hurt a small or large restaurant. Although one hotel I worked for would take the towels that had gotten worn out of rotation from housekeeping and turn them into kitchen towels.

It is good to be a BBQ Judge.  And now it is even gooder to be a Steak Cookoff Association Judge.  Life just got even better.  Woo Hoo!!!

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