1 Decide if these sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1 Chefs only wear a uniform to look good. F
2 The clothes they wear are practi cal and comfortable.
3 Kitchen staff uniforms are mostly white so you can see any dirt.
4 Clothes do not protect people against germs.2 Read the introduction to kitchen staff clothes and check your answers.
Kitch en staff wear uniforms for different reasol)s: to identify the professional role, so chefs can do their job, an d
for personal hygiene and safety. You can alw ays recogni se a ch ef by his/ h er uniform but the clothes are also
practical and com fortable en ough to work safely and efficiently in the kitche n environme nt. The uniform is
m os tly white in colour so that you can see an y dirt an d the clothes protect against germs th a t can cau se food
poisoning.3 Read the rest of the text about kitchen staff uniforms and label the clothes with the words in bold
in the text.
The most famous p art of the chef' s uniform is the toque, the
chef' s hat. It is usu ally m ade of w hite paper or m aterial and it
covers hair, w hich should be clean and short to avoid any
contact with food or dirt.
Nowadays some chefs prefer to wear a bandana, a piece of
coloured m aterial, which is also hygienic as it completely
covers hair.
Some chefs also wear a triangle, a kind of scarf usually m ade
of cotton, rolled up around th e neck to absorb sweat and stop
the neck from getting cold.
Another impor tant garm ent is the chef's jacket, which is
u su ally made of good quality white cotton, heat-resistant and
easy to wash. Jackets are u sually d ouble-breasted w ith specia 1
materia l or plastic buttons, w hich do not melt or drop into
food. This kind of j acket i s quickly removed in an em ergency
or reversed if it becomes stained on one side. Wide roll-up
sleeves aim to protec t arms from heat and burns.
Kitchen staff must carefully tie an apron around their w aist,
making sure it covers them right down to their ankles and
folding it over at the top to provide extra heat protection.
They should be careful to cover the knot so that it cannot
ca tch in anything causing danger.
The torchon is a piece of material used to pick up and m ove
hot things and should always be tied to the apron.
Chefs' trousers need to be made of nonflammable m aterial
without a hem, because bac teria can grow there. Some
women w ear a skirt, w hich meets the same standards.
Chefs w ear comfortable, lightweight shoes made of l eather
or another natural material as they stand up all day. N on-slip
soles, a thick upper part and a protective steel cap are all
important details to help avoid burns or accidents.
Before work, chefs put their own clothes away to prevent
p ossible contamination and all staff wear clean uniform s
every day.p i toque I