Uniforms for school and care kitchens

Many kitchens are run by a contract caterer or a local authority across several sites, so the same uniform has to work for one cook in a village school and a full team in a large academy.

Hygiene first

Kitchen staff need clean, washable tops that can be changed daily, hair covered, and no loose items that could fall into food. Lightweight tunics or short-sleeve chef's jackets suit the heat of a school kitchen better than heavy jackets.

Aprons in a set colour for raw food handling and another for serving can support your food safety plan. Follow your own HACCP rules and allergen procedures.

Facing children and residents

Lunch staff serve hundreds of children in an hour. A friendly colour and a clear logo help pupils know who the dinner team are. In care homes, kitchen staff may serve in dining rooms, so a softer look than full chef whites can feel more homely.

Name badges or embroidered first names help younger children and residents with memory loss.

Safe on wet floors

Mopping during and after service makes floors slippery. Closed, slip-resistant safety shoes or trainers are worth providing; check your risk assessment for what it requires. Toe protection helps when moving heavy pans and delivery crates. Keep a spare pair for visiting relief cooks.

• Cooks: short-sleeve chef's jacket or tunic, skull cap
• Serving staff: tunic or polo with apron
• All: slip-resistant closed footwear

Easy to wash, easy to replace

School and care kitchens wash uniforms often and at high temperatures, so choose chef's jackets, tunics and aprons made for frequent laundering. Keeping the same styles and colours year after year makes replacements simple, as a new jacket matches the old ones. A small embroidered logo also helps visitors and inspectors see who works in the kitchen.

Where to put your logo

Embroider the school, trust or catering company logo on the left chest of tunics and jackets. It survives the daily hot washes kitchen kit needs. If one caterer serves many schools, use the company logo on all kit for consistency, and add the school name to aprons if the school asks for it. Keep thread colours bright and friendly for children. Kingston Branding proofs every design before production.

Ordering for school and care kitchens

Most school and care kitchens start with chef's jackets, healthcare and beauty tunics and aprons and tabards. You can order from one garment and add more as you take people on. The logo price drops at 9 and again at 25 garments, and every garment with a small logo counts towards it, so mixing styles and colours still gets the better price. Before anything is made, we embroider an actual sample of your logo and email you a photo to approve, or you can pop in to our Hull workshop to see it.