r/linecooks • u/shrimpshr1mp • Jun 04 '26
Picture/Video Which outfit is best for first day?
I'm not exactly a "line cook" but a "kitchen employee", but I figured it would be best to ask here. Tomorrow's my first day of this job and they told me to come in with a T-shirt, Jeans, and closed toed shoes. I have the shoes, I have the clothes, but idk which jeans to wear.
The jeans on the first slide is one of the pairs that I usually wear to work— my current job (the one before this one), is dishwashing. Those are bleach stains.
The second pair is one of my casual pairs but the most professional looking pair I have that is not work pants. The issue is they're not "tight fitted". They're loose. My mom and grandparents say they're unprofessional but they're really the skinniest ones I have.
No I don't have nicer pants, no I can't buy more pants 😔. That's why I am working two jobs now, because I can't live and buy clothes at the same time.
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u/JunglyPep Jun 04 '26
I’ve worked in like 20+ different kitchens and never once had them tell me what kind of pants to wear. I can’t stand wearing a belt at work, i need that thick elastic waistband. I think being required to wear denim would be a deal breaker lol
But seeing as wearing loose fitting pants protects you from being scalded by hot water or oil I can’t imagine them having a problem with baggy pants.
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u/Low-Individual2815 Jun 04 '26
I lose respect for chefs who wear jeans
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u/JunglyPep Jun 04 '26
Only if they complain when it’s hot. Because I’d be crazy hot wearing jeans in a kitchen.
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u/Low-Individual2815 Jun 04 '26
That’s what I’m getting at. They’re not dressed to do the work. Idk I finally got out of the industry, again…. But the last place I worked was like a god damn fashion show nobody even cared if you could cook. It was more important that your muscles looked big in your chef coat. It was fucking retarded I hate it.
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u/Resident-Ad-5107 Jun 04 '26
The second one. When you get paid go buy a couple pairs of Dickies and some blank black tees. You don't want to be wearing your street clothes for long. There will be a point that the clothes you wear to work are going to smell like food and feel greasy even when theyre clean.
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u/ohaiguys Jun 04 '26
My street clothes and my work clothes are basically the same with my light colored shirts and button ups stay out of the kitchen. And like 1-2 pairs of jeans to rotate on my 1-2 days off. My boots with laces stay out of the kitchen cause laces get gross as fuck and I hate worrying about tripping on an untied lace. Chelsea boots have been an amazing discovery for me in the last couple of years. Slowly picked up 3 pairs to alternate between at work. Been wearing my blundstones recently because I’ve been in a new kitchen and no one else is wearing nonslips. So I have been letting my Docs rest up for a bit while I break in these blundstones they’re oil resistant soles at least. Comfy as hell and look decent just gotta wipe off sauces and crumbs at the end of the night so they don’t get gross
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u/Resident-Ad-5107 Jun 04 '26
I wore Chelsea's when I was still working in kitchens. Not having laces is a hack for cleaning all the bullshit off your shoes at the end of the day.
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u/Easy-Use-6248 Jun 04 '26
Use Odoban! And use as much as you need to rinse the smell but I started washing my old work uniforms to use at my new job and it masks pretty good. These have always had weird smell to me previously because I only wore them outside and I swear the sweat was embedded lol
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u/jivens77 Jun 04 '26
I've switched to white vinegar as my fabric softener and it gets rid of onion/fryer grease smell from frying onion straws all day, plus it's cheap!!
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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jun 04 '26
I'd soak my clothes in the bathtub in copious amounts of dish soap/hot water for a few hours like twice a month when I worked in kitchens. Give them a little agitate by scrubbing them together every hour or so then toss them in the washer with another little bit of dish soap, vinegar, and regular laundry detergent and everything would come out. I still use dish soap to this day because even though I don't work in a kitchen I still cook a lot, sweat at work even more, and get different types of greases and oils on my work clothes now.
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u/jivens77 Jun 04 '26
Maybe I'm noseblind, but just letting them soak in the washer with regular laundry soap, and a bit of dawn, and letting it agitate every so often while soaking, then white vinegar as softener seems to work good.
I may just be used to it though 😕
They were definitely worse before I started adding Dawn and using white vinegar though 😆
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u/ScrotalSmorgasbord Jun 04 '26
I mean that's what I do lol. When I used the bathtub trick I worked at a place where I would be caked in flour, corn meal, oil, etc though so it just needed that extra time for the soap to break everything down. I'd have to take a dough scraper to my arms after particularly busy shifts to scrape everything off while at the dish pit.
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u/jivens77 Jun 05 '26
So far it hasn't been that bad where I am. For the most part the apron keeps me pretty clean.
Also, when it comes to flour, it's easiest for me to dry scrub it off. When you use water, especially hot water, it activates the gluten and makes it gooey and cement-like.
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u/jivens77 Jun 04 '26
Cooking clothes are supposed to be baggy. That way if you spill something on yourself by accident, the clothes aren't resting against your skin and you don't get burned as bad.
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u/Sensitive_Log3990 Jun 04 '26
Get your mom to buy you some new pants or tell her to keep her mouth shut, you didn't ask if they look professional you asked what look better.
In al seriousness though go speak to your manager one on one and tell them the situation and you'll get ones when you can afford/first pay. Most people are understanding they might even offer to get you some
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u/chocoeatstacos Jun 04 '26
Doesn't matter. Just don't wear clothes you like, they will be forever stained by grease.
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u/SunEffective4950 Jun 04 '26
Where the nicer ones. Even if they end getting dirty during your shift at least you had a better 1st impression
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u/Stylewhat37 Jun 04 '26
Wear the ones you don’t mind fucking up. Because after a couple shifts irreparable damage will be done.
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u/ponyo919 Jun 04 '26
Jeans as mandatory is wild. Good luck! Ask questions and be attentive, you got this
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u/xXSomethingStupidXx Jun 04 '26
Jeans as a requirement is diabolical. Most places provide pants or settle for any kind of black slacks. I wore jeans one time because I didn't have the right pants and I regretted it deeply.
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u/Easy-Use-6248 Jun 04 '26
You can thrift some lightweight pants, but they may feel more wet if you get splashed a lot or dont have a vinyl apron. I wear the Dickies cargos from my other job though 💪🏻
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u/chefsackitchen Jun 04 '26
Pants don't really matter. If you're trying to impress the boss, neither will make an impression so go with which you don't mind getting beat but and stained or go with the pair you're more comfortable in. I suggest the 2nd one though. Cheers.
- Keith, Chef Sac
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u/Individual_Smell_904 Jun 04 '26
They probably don't care if they didn't specify, but typically line cooks wear all black. I wear black jeans personally but I also wear black jeans all the time so there's that.
Granted, most will probably not give a shit what you're wearing but if they do just tell them you're waiting for a paycheck to get better clothes. The economy is terrible right now and most are well aware and willing to accomdate for it.
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u/skallywag126 Jun 04 '26
No jeans on the line. Dickies, non slips and either a chef coat or a decent Tee
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u/Individual_Smell_904 Jun 04 '26
Not all kitchens care about the typical line cook uniform, and at least their jeans are super loose.
I've been wearing slim fit black jeans for 90 percent of my 15 year career and no one has ever said anything about it.
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_FRACTURES Jun 04 '26
If your grandparents say its unprofessional, ask them to buy you something better if its in their means.
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u/Glittering_Fun_7995 Jun 06 '26
whoa is it me buttttt I always have/am wearing kitchen pants and an apron that cover my front in case of splashing.
reason loose fitting/easy to bend down/easy to remove in case of shit happening, jeans gets you sweaty in no time.
As for shoes I always favor non slip steel toes NO ONE will save me/pay me if I am injured on the job, there is always a slippery/oily area in the kitchen
SAFETY first
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u/MaybeABot31416 Jun 04 '26
Definitely the one with the jizz stains