Food Health and Safety: The Importance of Professional Chef Wear

In the food industry, the health and wellbeing of your customers and staff is top priority. The last thing that any restaurant owner wants is to have a customer subdued by food poisoning after eating something at their restaurant. It could be just as bad to have a staff member injured in the kitchen due to the restaurant's negligence. For these main reasons, it is important that you implement professional chef wear attire for all your staff.

Let's start at the top. The chef's hat may complete the look of a professional chef but it has an important function. It is designed to keep the hair covered so that no strands of hair can make their way to a customer's meal. A strand of hair would be the ideal transport for unruly bacteria.

The chef's jacket is designed to cover the upper body including the arms. It protects the chef from food spills that could land onto their skin. It also gives your chef a professional appearance which customers trust. The chef's trouser serves the same purpose. It is preferable for a chef and all of the kitchen staff to cover their bodies completely. It looks professional and limits skin from coming into direct contact with the food.

Aprons prevent the food from spilling directly onto the kitchen staff's clothing. It is preferable to wash the apron after each day's use so that you don't carry yesterday's germs into a new day. We all know how quickly germs can fester. Disposable aprons are a better option if you are not able to wash the cloth aprons daily.

Disposable gloves are available in latex or vinyl. Regardless of which ones you choose for your kitchen staff, ensure that they wear them at all times, especially when they are handling food. The hands transfer more bacteria than any other part of the body. That is, quite simply, because we use our hands for everything. Coughs and colds are easily transferable by touch. Just think about how many items you utilize your hands in one day. Kitchen staff must have clean hands at all times and handle any food with gloves.

Disposable plastic shoe covers are ideal for use in butcheries where raw meat is handled on a daily basis. With the slicing and cutting of raw meat, remnants tend to spread all over the kitchen including the floor. Protecting the shoes ensures that no raw meat remnants leave the premises.

For the health and safety of your kitchen staff and customers, investing in safe quality catering equipment and chef wear is essential.

CaterWeb stocks a full range of commercial kitchen products and we even offer free demonstrations as well as hands on training if necessary. Visit our website to access our online store or alternatively we welcome you to visit our new showroom.

Please call us at 0861 CATERWEB or e-mail your inquiry to sales@caterweb.co.za so we may assist with your catering equipment requirements!