Catering and hospitality is a very diverse industry, it can cover a wide range of business types, from fine dining in an exclusive restaurant, right through to a street food from a van, catering uniforms includes front of house staff to chefs jackets to pot washers. This makes catering staff uniform incredibly varied and wide ranging.
The industries and people who need uniform
Hospitality and catering covers a vast range of businesses, some examples of these are listed below.
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- School canteens
- Cafes
- Diners
- Coffee shops
- Staff restaurants
- Outside caterers
- B & B’s
- Pubs
- Bars
- Theatres
- Casinos
- Cruise ships
Within the businesses above, there will be a range of staff who may need some kind of uniform, even if that’s just a dress code. Waiters, waitresses, concierge, sommeliers, cleaning staff, bar staff, reception, hosts, chef’s, cooks, chauffeurs, baristas, manager and housekeepers are just a few of the roles you might have. Some of these uniforms may be purely practical and protective for behind the scenes and some will be customer facing, so need to be much more style/ image led.
History of catering staff uniform
A hundred years ago catering was something experienced exclusively by the rich, having staff in your home to make and serve all your meals or going out for afternoon tea or for a meal was a real luxury and as such was treated with a high level of formality. Catering staff uniform at that time would be a suit, waistcoat, shirt, tie or bow tie an apron and hat, chef whites and chefs hat.
Hospitality today
In current times going out for food has become part of many people’s weekly routine. The cost of eating out has reduced along with the increase of many people’s disposable income. As a result of this, formality has significantly reduced as a result, which means uniform is much more relaxed. If you go for tea at the Ritz you may still experience the old fashioned formality and style, but for most catered offerings the feeling much more relaxed. Jeans, polo shirt, t shirt maybe an apron, may be not even a uniform!
Working in the uniform industry, we notice that catering staff uniform has become much less about formality but there is a real step up in branding and style. Uniforms and catering has become very fashion led and hospitality designers create immersive experiences for the diners which is about much more than just the food. Increased enquires into Pantone matched uniform and highly bespoke aprons. Some of our recent customers have ordered striped long sleeve t shirts with denim aprons, utility style jackets. We have also supplied a hotel with braces to wear over shirts.
There is so much competition within hospitality, that restaurants and hotels are constantly trying to find new and exciting concepts to entice customers in.
The practicalities of uniform
Style and look of a catering clothes is important but when it comes to catering staff uniform, durability and practicality is a huge factor. Spills and splashes of food are a daily hazard especially for those who prepare the food. Long hot shifts mean that clothing should be comfortable and regulate heat. Clothing is going to be washed and worn repeatedly and often on high temperatures with stain removers, so they need to be tough to stay looking good and last.
Putting your look together
If you are looking for catering staff uniform, please come and talk to us at Impact Trading. We have a huge range of stock uniform which we can guide you through. We can also manufacture bespoke garments to match your style and brand colours, such as aprons, polos, t shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts. Our team have vast experience of the options available to achieve your individual style and practical requirements. We can also help you with print and embroidery to brand garments with your logo. We can give you information on where logos can be positioned, maybe go for somthing new? Match embroidery thread or print colours to your brand Pantone colours.
