On the more practical side, Lam explains how chefs often get inked to cover their frequent burn marks and scars. “It's a nice way to turn your burn into something beautiful,” he says. For Lam, tattoos are also often an indication of industry culture in general.
But generally speaking, tattoos shouldn't be grounds for judgement or expulsion in a kitchen, as they're not unsanitary, and they are in no way a reflection of the quality of a cook. These days you'd be hard pressed not to find a chef without at least one piece of ink.
It became a statement to how serious you were as a cook or a chef. The more tattoos you had and the more the ink displayed food-related images, the more passion you had for your craft, in many people's eyes.
While having a nose piercing as a chef is not a problem, it is highly discouraged to be worn during service. Nose piercings, like any other earrings, can harbor germs and can cause cross-contamination. Touching the nose piercing and other facial jewelry during cooking can contaminate utensils and food.
It would seem that the amount of heat in the kitchen serves as a deterrent for chefs to keep long hairstyles, but it proves to be not enough. In reality, many chefs sport long hair and beards.
It's a Physically Demanding Job
Working in a kitchen, you're going to be standing and moving around for at least 8 hours. You'll also need to be lifting heavy pots of food, carrying large bags of food, and stocking walk-ins with food, which can put a strain on your body.
There is no food safety law that prohibits food handlers from growing beards. Food handlers can have beards while working around food, provided that they ensure that there will be no contamination due to hair. To prevent this scenario from happening, food handlers with facial hair must wear beard restraints.
Describe your staff's work clothes here: Staff should not wear watches or jewellery when preparing food (except a plain wedding band). Watches and jewellery can collect and spread dirt and harmful bacteria, and fall into the food. Do your staff take off watches and jewellery before preparing food?
Jewelry are not only potential physical hazards but they can also hide dirt and bacteria. Food handlers should not wear earrings, watches, or rings. The only jewelry permitted is a plain wedding band. Use proper handwashing techniques.
Medical nose piercings are carried out by a doctor or nurse using medical, sterile equipment designed to virtually eliminate the chance of initial infection. However, poor aftercare, such as touching the pierced area with dirty hands, may still cause you to develop an infection.
On the more practical side, Lam explains how chefs often get inked to cover their frequent burn marks and scars. “It's a nice way to turn your burn into something beautiful,” he says. For Lam, tattoos are also often an indication of industry culture in general.
Tattoos can be a form of self-care for young people
trend report that Gen Z and Millennials are putting their own spin on self-care. It's not just bubble baths and meditation, and 17% of young people say they get tattoos as a form of personal care.
Tattooed Chef was founded in 2018 and based in Paramount, California.
Tattoos are generally accepted in the workplace as long as they're not offensive, unprofessional or distracting. In fact, nearly 3 out of 4 employers say they don't mind hiring tattooed workers. However, visible tattoos are not appropriate for every profession and may not match your company's vision.
Isaac Fitzgerald, co-author of "Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (with Recipes)," said chefs tend to like bodily displays of permanent art because they're badges of honor that show dedication "to the highs and lows, the silly and the serious sides of a life in food.
Tattoos themselves aren't unprofessional, though they do have the capacity to be. If you were to get a rude tattoo or something associated with criminal activity or gangs then it could send the wrong message.
Some restaurants might designate a colour scheme to match their branding or to create a hierarchy in the kitchen, for example, having the head chef and main cooks wear white chef jackets and prep cooks wear black chef jackets.
Wearing an apron will keep your clothes clean. If you don't have an apron, an old shirt will do. But don't wear anything that's big and loose. Baggy sleeves or clothes could catch fire or get caught in mixer beaters or other equipment.
In most cases, the answer will be 'yes' – while your waiters and waitresses may be able to get away with more freedom as to what they can wear, your chefs need to dress appropriately as a matter of safety. Allow chefs to wear anything they want and you could encourage injuries and contamination of food.
A chef's trousers have a small checkered pattern, which is effective in disguising the inevitable stains which develop while working. In the United States, the pattern is usually a black and white houndstooth, while many chefs in Europe prefer a blue and white pattern.
The traditional chef's uniform (or chef's whites) includes a toque blanche (fr)("white hat"), white double-breasted jacket, pants in a black-and-white houndstooth pattern, and apron. It is a common occupational uniform in the Western world.
Also, since most of our chefs are not cooking for the public when being filmed, hair nets are not often worn during food preparation. There is no debating the importance of safe food handling, including washing hands after handling poultry, removing jewelry when handling food items, and other hygienic factors.
Beards require a beard snood/net where the hair length is more than 15mm or if for any reason it is especially prone to hair loss. Beards which cannot be contained within a beard snood/net are not permitted and the beard snood must be worn at all times for food safety reasons.
Conventionally, having a beard is often associated with negative images such as blowsy, filthiness, and so on. So, Japanese men are likely to shave their beards when they go out or are in public to look hygienic and neat.