How To Choose A Uniform For Your Restaurant
Creating the right first impression with staff uniforms is an often overlooked way of turning intrigued foodies into a loyal customer base. You may have the biggest signs, the brightest lights, the best furniture and tableware, the most lavishly decorated and mouth-watering dishes, but giving your staff the right look can entice customers in and create that all important perfect first impression.
Themed eateries have an easy job when it comes to creating uniforms for front of house staff that speak the language of the business; 50’s diners with waitresses in roller skates comes to mind, but how do you go about creating a brand image to suit your business?
SHOP ALL RESTAURANT CLOTHINGCapitalising on Colour
Creating a uniform using colour is a great way to catch the eye and entice customers. But be sure to choose colours that represent what you offer and the atmosphere you’re trying to create. Using bright colours, such as red and yellow, in an environment that is designed to be relaxing will have the opposite effect. Adversely, if you use calming and neutral colours in fast-paced fast food restaurants, customer won’t feel the buzz you’re trying to create.
Chef Works offers a massive range of coloured shirts, aprons and chefs’ jackets, helping you to bring a burst of colour to your front and back of house; from vibrant red to pale green.
Think Smart
Choosing a uniform that emanates professionalism and class is a great way to create a lasting impression on patrons. Being served by someone in a waistcoat and well-pressed trousers or waiting skirt is perfect for high-end restaurants, as customers will expect a level of sophistication to match the food. And when done properly, this works for any restaurant. For new businesses that want to get a foothold in an already crowded, although growing market, opting for a smart, sleek look can instil trust, respect and a sense of worth in customers. Being served by someone who has taken pride in how they look helps customers to feel special and important, and can actually add to overall experience of the food.
Uniform Works offer a massive range of professional waiting clothing, from dress shirts and trousers to waistcoats and ties, all in a range of colours, patterns and fits to suit any front of house staff member. Switching from polo shirts and slacks to a smart uniform can also help to rebrand your company, changing popular opinion to help increase footfall.
Find Your Edge
If a professional look isn’t what you’re after, trying something a little different could be the option for you. If you’re main customer base are young, trendy students looking for a quick bite, they won’t expect to be served by a suited waiter. Chef Works have recently launched a range of Urban front of house clothing that perfectly suits these casual dining style venues. From aprons to shirts, the range boasts a unique ‘street-inspired’ look that helps to create a specific ambience. Style is a great way to attract customers too, if your restaurant or bar looks trendy, people will want to be there to feel part of a scene.
Comfort is Key
No matter how good your front of house staff look, if they aren’t comfortable, they aren’t going to provide the level of service you want them to through long and demanding service. Customers can easily pick up on the emotions and attitude of your waiting staff, so ensuring they are happy and comfortable is just as important as ensuring they look good. To help you with this, we stock soft cotton catering t-shirts and polo shirts.
Constricting and uncomfortable clothing can also make your staff less productive, reducing the speed of service. Chef Works clothing is designed to ensure comfort is easily maintained through hot and hectic shifts in both front and back of house, with Cool Vent™ technology and soft, yet durable fabrics.
CREATE AN IMAGE
Dressing your staff in a certain way is only part of the challenge when it comes to create an image. Matching the uniform to the interior design of your venue is the next step. If you want to create an on-trend uniform with denim shirts and flat caps or urban styled aprons, adding rustic and unique features to your surroundings will help create the vision you’re after. Choose table tops with a worn effect, decorative lighting and tableware with a rustic flare to set a scene and feel within your dining and bar areas.
Your brand logo is arguably your most important branding asset, so having it embroidered on your clothing helps to imprint the branding into customers minds, making your business the first thing they think of, whether it’s for a steak dinner or a night of cocktails.
Best Foot Forward
A good quality restaurant shoe is comfortable and easy-care for low maintenance. An excellent restaurant shoe will be made from a lightweight material to stop feet getting tired, have non-slip soles to prevent accidents and be durably designed to endure the fast-paced nature of hospitality. This includes a waterproof core material for machine washing and protection against spills. It may also mean a safety toe cap to stop damage when your toes come in to contact with sharp edges.
Wearing the right shoe for any role is important. When your role in a restaurant is customer-facing, footwear says more about professionalism than you might think. To help you achieve the look you want, our lace-up dress shoe selection is sure to offer a pair that’s right for you. From comfortable, premium brogue style shoes from Shoes For Crews (SFC) to more traditional Oxford shoes from iconic brand Dr Martens. Our most popular brands are Lites and Slipbuster, offering high quality polished footwear that is supportive and lightweight on your feet.
Comfort & Quality
What makes a comfortable hospitality work shoe? Attention to detail and innovative design to make your feet feel well supported during a shift. This starts with a reinforced sole. It needs to have a thick enough platform that your feet are insulated from the ground. The sole should also have a deep groove pattern to help promote grip against the ground. A front of house role requires you to be on many floors presenting hazards: from slippery surfaces, to food spills to broken glass or crockery.
The texture of the insole should be firm to support the weight of your body through a long period of standing on any surface – yet flexible enough to be comfortable. Additional insoles are always wise for extra padding per step too. Ideal textures for an insole are not limited to, but include EVA and leather. The upper layer (or, outsole) of the shoe also needs to be flexible for comfort, as your foot needs to be able to move freely in a fast-paced restaurant. A good shoe’s outsole should be made from a breathable texture too. This will encourage good airflow to your skin so feet don’t feel constricted and tire out quickly after a few hours working.
A comfortable shoe heel should be wide enough to support your hind foot upon landing impact. It should also stop the base of the shoe wearing away quickly. For extra safety, it’s a good idea to invest in an SR (slip resistant) rated footwear with a toe cap. Just as strong as metal toe caps, composite toe caps are made from materials such as fibre glass, carbon fibre and kevlar. The toe cap will protect you against up to 200 joules of energy impact from heavy falling objects.
Fit & Feel
Being constantly on the go at work means the fit of your shoe makes a huge difference to your daily work performance. Brands can vary in sizing, so it’s essential to understand the fit of the shoe before purchase. This includes accurately measuring your foot according to the size guide provided. For example, you might want to go down a size if the shoe brand sizing tends to come up big. Or, up half a size for more space in the toe area as you move about at work. We stock size guides against all our online footwear products to help you with this.
The fit of a shoe can be the difference between rubbing blisters at work or complete comfort. Like the texture quality, it can also increase airflow. Extra space will help your feet stay fresh and promote air circulation to minimise cramps and numbness. If trying on instore, a great test is to try the shoes with your regular work socks or insoles you wear.
Grip
A tough grip is necessary to have a quality work shoe which keeps you stable and secure. Especially when you work around food residue. Food residue and spills throughout the day can mean you’re prone to slipping – which, if severe, can damage vulnerable areas of the lower extremities including your toes and ankles.
Occupational safety footwear is specifically designed to help you with this, and legally has to meet EN ISO 20345:2012 to qualify under the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) criterion. Look out for safety ratings on the website, explained below, against footwear descriptions to help you with this.
| Safety Rating | Rating Criteria | |
|---|---|---|
| SB | Safety basic rated – has a 200 joule toe cap | |
| S1 | SB rated and has: - Closed heel area - Energy absorption at seat area - Antistatic properties - Resistance to fuel oil | |
| S2 | S1 rated and handles water penetration and absorption | |
| S3 | S2 rated and has a cleated outsole, and penetration resistance | |
| S4 | S1 rated and has: - An entirely moulded polymer/rubber upper making them leak proof and waterproof | |
| S5 | S4 rated and has midsole penetration resistance | |
| SRA | Slip resistant – tested on ceramic tiles wetted with a soapy (sodium lauryl) solution | |
| SRB | Slip resistant - tested on smooth steel with glycerol solution | |
| SRC | Slip resistant – both SRA and SRB tested | |
| P | Penetration resistance | |
| C | Conductive | |
| A | Anti-static | |
| I | Electricity insulating footwear | |
| WR | Water resistance | |
| M | Metatarsal protection | |
| AN | Ankle protection | |
| CR | Cut resistance | |
| WRU | Water penetration and absorption upper | |
| HRO | Outsole resistance to hot contact |
View our article, Protective Clothing in the Food and Hospitality industry to learn more.
Durability
As well as slip resistance you’ll need to consider other factors which will not only protect your feet, but ensure a long lasting pair of work shoes. This can mean anything from excellent insole cushioning to padded collars, thicker soles and a tapered toe area to minimise the possibility of tripping. Possibly dedicated mesh ventilation panels too.
Some shoes have an additional rubber layer around their platform to help insulate feet and shield against daily wear. An easy to care for, robust outsole fabric is always beneficial too. Water resistant synthetic materials such as rubber are always a good idea. When treated they are easy to keep clean and wrinkle free.
Complete The Look With Name Badges
Finish off your professional catering look with our high quality custom staff name badges. Presented in executive gold and silver or white and black, our affordable staff name badges are a stylish way to communicate with customers of all abilities.
Easy to clean and reuse, staff name badges help to cut out internal communication issues and elevate employee engagement, leading to better shared product knowledge for customer satisfaction. Give your staff the best opportunity to deliver a first rate dining service with our custom engraved staff name badges; available with up to 40 characters across two lines of text.