How to Stay Comfortable in the Kitchen

Summer's here... things are going to get hot, and you're going to be right there in the thick of it, doing what you do.

With kitchens getting hotter, ask a chef what comfort in the kitchen means to them, the most common response is "staying cool." (Or, at least relatively cool!)

We've all heard the old adage, 'If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.'

Great advice if you're home, whipping up dinner for the family…not so sage on a steamy summer night with orders flying in and a line out the door. Especially when you're working the grill station, or the double in front of a wood-fired pizza oven.

The fact is, kitchens get really hot, really fast, and we can't spend all night inside the walk-in.

The hard truth is that when you combine extremely high external temperatures with a couple of "always-on" deep-fryers, several ovens, and a 5000 Btu gas stove, even the best air conditioners are just plain outgunned.

Whereas fans and air conditioners help, their efficiency is only as good as the most critical factor in heat regulation, what we wear.

Features like lightweight, breathablefabrics, strategically placed air-vents, and sleeve length are all crucial factors in regulating body temperature (i.e., keeping us cool!)

Lightweight Material Cool Vent™ Technology.

Lightweight chef jackets incorporate an extremely light fabric with Cool Vent™ technology, to allow increased airflow between the material and your skin. The modern lightweight chef pant fabric is quick-drying and wicks away sweat.

Sleeve Length

While the long sleeves of a chef's jacket are designed to protect the arms from spills and burns, in hot weather they also serve to block alotof surface area from circulating air, while trapping in excess body heat.

Sleeve length is a judgement call, but if your goal is to beat the heat, short sleeves are the way to go.

Headwear Ventilation

Just like water comes to a boil faster when you cover the pot with a lid, unvented headwear is going to retain heat that would otherwise escape, causing our noggins to heat up more quickly, and stay hotter.

With a lightweight fabric base, cool vent fabric top, and adjustable Velcro closure to keep it comfortable, Cool Vent Chef Beanies allows for maximum airflow to protect the most important tool in the kitchen...our brain!

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