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The best chef's jackets best brands top 10 and how to c

The best chef’s jackets—best brands, top 10 and how to choose the right one

Finding your ideal chef’s jacket means considering your role in the kitchen and what you need from your garment.

In this guide, we talk you through:

your options when it comes to material, fastenings, sleeve lengths, ventilation
some of the best brands, and how to choose between them
our top 10 chef’s jackets

Jump to the top 10 chef’s jackets

Choosing the right jacket—things to consider

Chef’s jackets all have different features—some of them have practical consequences and some of them are to do with style or your preferred brand.

With that in mind, here’s a quick overview of how each part of a chef’s jacket influences your experience in the kitchen, and what your options are.

Material
Weight of fabric
Type of fastening
Ventilation
Design

Material

This affects:

how long the jacket will last
how breathable it is (i.e. how much air it allows to circulate around your body)
whether it will rub or chafe
how heavy it is

Materials: your options

Polyester/cotton (polycotton)	A blend of polyester and cotton—typically 65% polyester/35% cotton, or a higher-quality 50/50) Hardwearing Breathable Washes easily, and dries without wrinkles
100% cotton	Made entirely from premium cotton Strong Doesn’t rub or chafe Very breathable Washes at high temperature
Egyptian cotton	Made entirely from soft luxury cotton Strong and long-lasting Lightweight Very breathable Washes at high temperature

Weight of fabric

This affects:

how freely you can move while wearing the jacket
how well it protects you against burns, since weight normally affects thickness (find out more about the relationship between fabric weight and fabric thickness here)
how hot you get (although many jackets have ventilation systems to counteract the heat)

Weight of fabric: your options:

The choice basically comes down to what feeling you prefer.

Heavyweight jackets

Some chefs find heavy jackets bulky and uncomfortable, and overly hot if the jacket lacks proper ventilation.

However, heavy jackets tend to use thicker fabric, especially when made of cotton or a cotton/polyester mix. Thicker jackets are much better at protecting against burns from hot surfaces, as you might expect. There’s actually been a detailed study into this, which you can read about here.

Lightweight jackets

These generally feel easier to move in but they are also susceptible to wearing down more quickly and don’t offer as much protection against hot surfaces.

Type of fastening

This affects:

how easy it is to get the jacket on or off
how the jacket looks

Fastenings: your options

Which fastenings you go for generally comes down to personal preference. Chef’s jackets tend to have the following fastenings:

Press studs (snap fastenings)	Easy fastening Secure the jacket well Can be unfastened quickly if you need to remove your jacket (e.g. hot oil accidents)
Detachable studs	Typically plastic Waterproof Lightweight Usually come in a range of styles and colours
Cloth buttons	Often handmade or hand-sewn Fabric doesn’t conduct heat, keeping your body cooler Durable Unlikely to suffer damage when the garment is washed Stylish

If you prefer a chef’s jacket without any fastenings, buttonless jackets are also available too.

Ventilation

A large part of working comfortably in the kitchen is about staying cool. Many chef’s jackets are designed to allow the cook’s skin to breathe easily when working in such hot environments, helping sweat to evaporate from your body and air to circulate more easily.

Ventilation: your options

For the best possible ventilation, look for garments which have:

aerated mesh panels (lower back/side)—these are sometimes marketed as a particular kind of patented technology, such as StayCool or Coolmax
air vents under the arms

Design—sleeve length, collar and style

The design of a chef’s jacket isn’t just about how it looks—there are practical reasons for a jacket having certain features too.

Long sleeves—protect your arms from getting scalded or burned when reaching across stove burners or into ovens
Short sleeves—keep your uniform well out of the way of cooking containers and flames, while helping to cool you down
High collars—shield you from hot splatters up to the neck
Double-breasted design—the two layers of thick fabric guard against scalds and burns, while double rows of buttons let you reverse the jacket to conceal stains

Best chef’s jackets by brand

Some of the most popular brands of chef’s jackets we sell are:

Le Chef
De Berkel
Bragard
our own brand Russums

Le Chef best sellers

Le Chef are a really popular brand of chef’s jacket, and that’s because it makes high-quality clothing that sets out to make chefs’ lives much easier. By using cutting-edge design, Le Chef is able to create technologically advanced, lightweight garments for chefs who spend all of their working lives in the heat and humidity of a kitchen.

Le Chef Contract Tunic Top

65/35 polyester/cotton blend
200g fabric
Double-breasted
Tapered front
French cuff
Pen pocket on left sleeve
Can be washed at 70°C

Short sleeves

Price: £17.50 (+ VAT)

The best chef’s jackets—best brands, top 10 and how to choose the right one

Choosing the right jacket—things to consider

Material

Materials: your options

Weight of fabric

Weight of fabric: your options:

Heavyweight jackets

Lightweight jackets

Type of fastening

Fastenings: your options

Ventilation

Ventilation: your options

Design—sleeve length, collar and style

Best chef’s jackets by brand

Le Chef best sellers

De Berkel best sellers

Bragard best sellers

Our top 10 best chef’s jackets

Size guide, shipping and returns

Sizes

Shipping

Returns

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