hello all...i'm really interested in getting your opinions and ideas on something that has bugged me for quite some time now.

i really want a coat of some kind to wear on deliveries and such, embroidered with my name and company. i've looked several times at the coats in gfs and online, with the different colors and such...i've even considered making my own. from what i understand, it's impolite to wear a chefs jacket if you haven't been to culinary school...kinda like wearing a doctors coat.

is there an alternative that anyone of y'all wear?

starla

Well I can tell you that I graduated from culinary school and you do not have to go to school to be considered a chef. (yes, some people think you do though.) I graduated with honors and still have a hard time being called Chef. I know I have not earned that title yet and won't for years to come through back breaking long hours of work. However, some of the best chefs I've learned from have never been to school and I proudly call them chef.
There has been a few threads on this topic.

A chefs coat is actually meant to protect the body while cooking. It is double sided so if you get splattered with food in the front you can easily switch sides and be presentable to meet guests at a table if they care to meet you.
A white chefs coat is a sign of cleanliness and being presentable. However, the colored chef coats are really starting to catch on (especially pink for women and black for men.) I have 8 jackets which are all white. Some are cheaper made ones and some are a higher quality. I prefer culinaryclassics to buy from. Crookedbrook has jackets also, but are more pricey and are basically a show piece and not to wear in a kitchen.

You can find patterns for chefs jackets also. Just make sure to buy a really good quality fabric when making them, thick enough not to show the shirt under it and a fabric that washes well and irons out well. Since you are wearing just for deliveries you still need to get a good quality made (or made by you) jacket, just in case.
Look specifically for a womans chef jacket pattern, they are cut differently to help flatter a womans form rather than making you look like a little man in one.

Go ahead and wear one. It makes you look more presentable and helps command attention at an event. It's also helps people remember you more.

for some reason i didn't get my notice about your reply. anyway though, thank you so much for taking the time to answer that! i've really considered buying the pink ones before, but would probably end up doing something different, just to march to my own beat. i love the look, the crisp clean lines, and the professionalism, but i just don't want to have to knock someone's teeth out when they commented on my not going to school!! ehheheehe.

seriously, thanks.

I know what you mean. My cake partner got us each one for Christmas so that we can wear them for deliveries. I always feel like an impersonator.

Like if I wore a police uniform when I'm not a policeman. Not only did I not earn it but I feel like I'm mocking those that did earn it. And wouldn't they be offended by that?

Thanks mkolmar for your answer. That makes me feel a lot better.

It's not the coat--anyone can wear them. In in most high-end kitchens everyone does, even the interns and low-level assistants. In restaurants titles are the big "badge of honor" and although I am, technically, a pastry chef, my place in a restaurant brigade, with my I would not be "chef", and no one would address me as such (except for possibly interns and untrained kitchen staff--none of the senior chefs would call me "chef").

I have wondered about this too! I will order one from crookedbrooke when I can afford it!!!

I love watching Top Chef on Bravo, and all of the contestants are required to wear a chef's coat - even the self-taught ones.

Chefs the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud, etc. acknowledge the contestants on this show as chefs, regardless of whether or not they hold culinary degrees.

So, you know, in other words, buy the coat!

If you're not comfortable with the coats, why not get a nice Oxford shirt with your logo on it, instead? It's not as casual as a tee shirt, but I've seen a lot of companies do this for their delivery personnel. It looks nice and sharp. And you can get one of those probably a lot easier than a chef's coat.

Exactly txcupcake... a culinary degree does NOT make someone a chef... many of the best chefs in the world have never been to culinary school.

I agree, I think a chef's coat is ok to wear. I think it's the chef's hat that is considered "taboo" to wear if you haven't earned it.

i am i the medical field... maybe i should wear my lab coat and scrubs to deliver my cake. I mean i am a Surgical Tech/First Assistant... but i hate wearing my lab coat... unless it is UBBER cold...

my mom and dad bought me a chef's jacket (we got it super cheap $13 at a restaurant supplier we go to buy all out baking supplies....

my dad who is a chef in my eyes.. never wears anything more than an apron that i made him when i was like 10... he is an awesome smoker.... and caterer... which is why i am overweight!!! and he thinks that it is pretensious (sp?) but he bought me a coat bc he says that i look cute in it... my DH thinks i look dorky... but i think its bc since i am busty, i had to get a bigger size, so in the midsection it is kinda big, and also in the sleves...

sorry so long!!!