Why Do Chefs Wear A White Apron And Checkered Pants?

It’s a look that we’re all familiar with, whether you’ve seen it on TV or at your local, chefs wearing a long white apron and white and black checkered pants. But why is this the normal outfit? It seems like every Chef in the world wears this exact same outfit. Well, turns out it’s for practicality.

The white apron is double-breasted, so if food or sauce spills you can just switch breasts to cover it. The pants are actually a ‘houndstooth’ pattern and are loose-fitting to stop the chef from getting hot, and it is hard to see spills on them.

The whole point of the outfits is for practicality in work to do with heating and hiding dirt and spills. When working with food all day every day, we think that sounds about right and is understandable in those cooking conditions.