Restaurant employee outfits are important for company image, branding, safety, comfort, productivity and affordability/care factors. There are some basic things to take into account, and then there are also more personalized style factors to consider that may help to enhance the mood or atmosphere of which your restaurant wishes to give to its customers.
Safety considerations
Safety should always come first. Making sure that employees are safe makes everyone feel more secure to do their job and, of course, protects the restaurant from liabilities. Shoes start at the bottom but make the top of the list as being the most important item with safety. In an industry that continues to suffer the impact of COVID-19, it is imperative for employers to augment their food health and safety policy with programs like 360 Training’s online food handler’s certification training.
Employees that work inside the kitchen will need non-slip shoes because it is inevitable that spills are eventually going to happen, or the floor is going to be intentionally hosed down or at least mopped once a day.
Also, if employees are doing things that require lifting heavy objects that may be dropped, such as disassembling industrial-sized meat cutters, mixers, or commercial stovetops that weigh more than bricks, then you should also consider requiring that they wear a steel toe shoe to prevent accidental injury.
Comfort considerations
Larger restaurants separate the noisy kitchen in an enclosed room that’s away from dining customers. In the kitchen, there are ovens, steamers, burners, grills and steamy dishwashing machines running practically every hour of operation.
It’s hot all year round, so the employees that work inside the kitchen need to wear cool clothing that is lightweight and breathable. It’s also necessary to take into consideration the specific jobs of each kitchen employee. Will they be staying wet or dry most of the time? Will they need to go into the freezer often?
Attire for dishwashers
No doubt about it, dishwashers are going to get wet. They are working with a sprayer and likely standing right next to the giant dishwasher that is releasing water on one end and steam on the other. They are also regularly required to do light cleaning in the kitchen or take care of spills.
It’s a messy job, so they will need a material that doesn’t look wet when it gets wet, it’s easy to clean or wipe off messes, and it air-dries very quickly. Polyester and spandex make a good combination to help wick off moisture so that employees stay as dry as possible.
Attire for cooks
Line and prep cooks are doing most of the grunt work. When they are not serving up plates, they are endlessly working by baking, chopping, and slicing and dicing ingredients needed for the next big dish. They will need to wear something light and breathable, such as cotton.
Although they will probably get wet and messy as well, this is easily avoidable by equipping them with full-sized chef aprons that cover the chest and thigh area. If they are regularly going back and forth to fetch items from the freezer then they will need to wear uniforms and chef aprons that are not too cumbersome, so they can easily slip in and out of large heavy jackets.
Attire for servers
With servers, it is important to find the right balance between professional style and functionality. Servers have the most interaction with customers and make a large impact on the customer’s overall experience.
Servers may also need to wear non-slip shoes as well depending on whether they are needed to step into the kitchen to retrieve orders. Hats could also be required to protect their hair to meet state health code regulations.
If it is a casual dining area then they can wear simple themes to match the restaurant’s genre. They may need a little bit more to dress up their attire by sporting button-up blouses or ties if it is a more upscale establishment.
Because they are constantly multitasking by clearing tables, taking out orders and writing new orders, they will need to wear waist aprons to hold pens and order pamphlets while their hands are occupied. Waist aprons are worn from the hip down so that their uniforms are visible because it shows off the uniform style that may also display their name and the restaurant’s logo.
Attire for hosts & floor managers
Their uniforms should be similar to the server uniforms but different enough to distinguish them from the rest of the dining staff. Supervisors and managers need the most attention to detail towards style because they are viewed as an authority in the restaurant, and because they are more focused on interfacing with the customers.
The uniform should also be adequate to wear both inside the kitchen and dining area because they are often going in-between both places to fulfill customer’s special requests or concerns. More pronounced blouses with different cuts can help distinguish a more sophisticated look while still matching the rest of the dining staff.
