The hospitality industry cannot be complete without considering serving people good meals, and you can’t have well-prepared meals without the kitchen and persons who work in them.
Chefs and other kitchen staff play a key role in restaurants and every other place where food is served. They spend several hours preparing meals and keeping the workplace clean, which keeps them standing in uncomfortable positions for many hours.
An average worker in the kitchen spends most of their shift standing and working against their natural circadian rhythms, so they are bound to experience fatigue. The concept of shift work in the kitchen is also an issue as kitchen staff tend to experience psychological and physiological issues like disturbed sleep patterns and stress.
Generally, prolonged standing jobs lead to more occupational injuries and discomfort. A study showed that about 50% of healthy kitchen staff complained of lower back discomfort after standing continuously for two hours. Another study found that prolonged standing causes foot pain at the end of a day’s job.
Importance of maintaining a good working posture
A good posture enhances your musculoskeletal health because when you align your spine correctly, it helps your bone, muscle and ligament stacking. This ensures a better balance and helps you function properly during your normal daily activities like lifting, standing for an extended period, walking and running.
However, a bad posture strains your joints and muscles, which causes pain and may damage your whole body. When your head doesn’t align properly with your pelvis, your muscles will work harder to try and re-centre your head over your pelvis. With your muscles working harder, they get fatigued faster, resulting in neck and back pain.
What causes poor posture and neck strain?
One of the common causes of neck strain resulting from poor posture for chefs and other kitchen staff is the aprons with loops or neck straps that they pull over their heads.
This is due to the apron’s weight and constant pulling of the apron while standing against a benchtop. The pulling causes a neck sprain as it pulls the neck forward. The neck, in turn, pulls on the muscles that support the spine, which may lead to headaches and neck tension.
What is the solution to this problem?
Wearing a cross back strap apron with separate adjustable straps can help prevent neck strain. The apron’s cross back straps come up from the bib, over your shoulders, then cross over to spread the apron weight down your back to a secure spot on the waist of the apron. Wearing a cross back strap apron is similar to wearing a comfortable backpack instead of a heavy chain around your neck.
Different types of cross back strap aprons are available, but those available at Cream Collection have a unique design that makes the straps stay on your shoulders. A secure apron helps correct your posture and hold you back in perfect alignment.
As a chef, barista, waiter or waitress wearing a suitable apron is essential since you maintain upright postures for long, so consider the following when getting an apron:
Comfort
Non-rigid so it doesn’t force your body to remain in a position that causes discomfort or pain.
Straps that do not feed through eyelets but have separate and adjustable waist straps - This ensures that the apron doesn’t ride up while you carry out your tasks.
Summing Up
Some people may prefer neck strap aprons because it is easy to slip them over your head, but when you wear a cross-back apron, it helps your posture as there is one less thing to worry about as you stand for a prolonged period in the kitchen. With a cross back strap apron, you will likely not experience neck pain again.
Store owner replied:
Wow! What awesome pics Josh, you look great as usual :) Thanks for your ongoing support.
Whether working the grill, pass or larder. You are always going to look good in the shirt. Comfortable & cool (if you are standing over a coal grill for 12hrs you are gonna sweat no matter what you wear). Always feel proud rolling into a shift in one of these.
Store owner replied:
Wow! You look great Olly, and Thank you for your beautiful review. It's much appreciated and we are sure this will assist other chefs who work in hot environments and want to look and feel cool. Thank you again.
The apron is well made of a lovely quality material, was well packaged and delivered promptly. Very happy with the purchase!
Store owner replied:
Hi Jullo, we are sorry to hear that you are disappointed, but there are numerous images of the "Mystery pack colour combinations" and as it is a Mystery pack with a saving of $32, is no specific colour that you can order. There are numerous images of the various colour combinations for this product, so it is a "mystery pack" as to what colour you will receive. Please feel free to reach out to us directly to see how we can turn your disappointment into a win, as we are here to assist at any time. Hope this helps.
I love the product, comfy and cool to wear. Special the apron really love it with the design.
Store owner replied:
Hi Phillip, thanks for taking the time to leave your comment - glad that you appreciate the quality of the apron which is made here in Australia. You're absolutely correct, this is lightweight denim as we mention on the website. Although it feels lightweight, these aprons last for many years and are absolutely loved by our chefs and I hope that they'll become a firm favourite of yours too. I'm here to assist with any questions you may have.
Store owner replied:
That's great to know that the aprons are comfortable to wear, thanks Nika, your comment is very much appreciated.
I was excited to order and received my 100% organic cotton chef Jackets and Aprons but was disappointed to find that there is a 2% spandex (Lycra) which takes away from the organic that you promote so strongly. Is there a reason for this and why isn’t it on your website under fabric content.
As far as I know the addition of spandex to your products takes it away from the circular economy as it is a synthetic material and makes the whole garment no recyclable.
I have been a chef for over 30 years and don’t think I have ever come across a chefs Jacket with spandex in it (polyester yes) A good fit should make putting a stretch material unnecessary.
Store owner replied:
Hi Sion, Thank you for your review. You are 100% correct, and I personally take full responsibility for this. We have added the fabric content this morning on all products. I can assure you we don't intend to mislead anyone - it was an oversight when changing the product descriptions recently. The 98% cotton is certified organic cotton. The 2% addition of spandex is woven in as when we worked with chefs to develop the collection, they wanted an element of stretch in the garments to allow the garments to be more tailored but move with the wearer to make them super comfortable. I will also email you directly to assist further.
Love it so light weight and breezy good for working in a fast paced kitchen wile still looking sharp cheer
Store owner replied:
Yay! That's great to hear that you're loving the softness of the fabric. Thanks for letting us know and may you enjoy wearing them for many shifts. xxx
This is probably theee best fitting and comfy jacket I’ve ever owned! I’m going to order a few more in the new year!
Thanks again guys for being so easy about the return due to them not fitting properly!
Thanks
Store owner replied:
You chose well Amanda! So glad he loves the fit and comfort of it. Thanks for letting us know.
Very flattering shirt. My only comment would be that the small is quite small. I’m a straight size 8 and I feel this is more like a size 6.5-7. But I’m still very happy with it.
Store owner replied:
Glad you like the flattering fit of this chef shirt Kaye. Thanks for letting us know about the sizing, we will consider this if we repeat this style in the future.
I have been a professionally trained cook for the past 40 years, so I have come through the traditional whites in a brigade system.
So far one of the best aprons / gear you can see some thought has been put into the design
Very nice
Les
Store owner replied:
Thank YOU Mr Leslie. Sorry you had to wait 40 years to wear "one of the best" but glad you found Cream Collection eventually. Enjoy every moment wearing the gear.
Was a present for my son. He is very happy with it.
Store owner replied:
Thanks Bea for your 5 star review, glad you love the comfort of the chef shirt. Enjoy!
I purchased the white Jo apron. Great quality apron, however the design was slightly different from the other photos of the same apron in different colours. I would prefer the pen pocket to be straight at the top (rather than slanted) and from an aesthetic standpoint I wasn’t fan of the round ring on the neck strap (but that’s probably me being picky)
Store owner replied:
Hi Andrew, Thanks for your 4 star review. I'll contact you about the images as the image of the white apron is as per the image on our website. The reason the pocket opening is slanted is that it is designed for ergonomic reasons, but we understand that every wearer has their personal preferences. Hope you are enjoying the comfort and fit of the apron. Thanks again.
Store owner replied:
Thank you Philipp! What a lovely review you have given, we appreciate it and glad that you are happy with the "insane quality" Thank you again.
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