Uniform Dress Code

 How many colleges that does requires a uniform to be worn to classes every single day of an academic year? Excluding the military colleges/universities, and with some college majors like in the healthcare field. Probably  a few or at least a couple that have a uniform must be worn everyday to class. Well at the The Culinary Institute of America, there is a uniform policy here and it is pretty enforced. My reason I would guess it has to be, it is to have the professionalism in the environment where a lot of people (mainly from the public or tourists etc...). Where they come in and see at this magnificent school. There are at least 3 acceptable clothing where we can able to wear while in academic buildings, one is the Chef whites, second is a Service uniform (both Culinary and Pastry have their own) and lastly it is Business Casuals.

 I'll be showing you what uniform we have to wear here at the CIA, and just get a sense what it feels like.

First we shall start off the Chef whites: 

 Wearing a chef coat/jacket, feels a sense of pride and responsibility as a cook. For me I think it just having that clean, professional look and again with pride to be wearing the coat. In this profession it requires hard work, where by end of the day it will feel good after such mounting tasks are completed. Unless you can withstand the criticisms, the heat, pressure, time limits, the ability to multitask, speed is needed, able to stand on your feet for hours and hours, to work as a team, be able to adapt with your environment, working long hours, missing your family, and must sacrifice some free time like holidays.

 At least that is the basic of being a cook or a chef. History of the Chef jacket, it was invented by Auguste Escoffier where he wanted to created something suitable for the kitchen. He created the chef coat to be double breasted because the ability to switch on one side to another if one side were to be dirty. Also able to protect the major organs from burns or if hot liquid were to be accidentally were to be spilled. The color of white of a jacket where it can able to deflect the heat. 

My five pairs of Chef Coats.

Here at the CIA, we are given 5 chef coats. The CIA expects them to be cleaned, ironed and pressed. They also must be kept white. Laundry here is free, the real reason is to keep those Chef whites to be clean! 

If you are in the Culinary program your name will be in green. If Baking and Pastry, your name will be in gold. Also the CIA's college colors is Green and Gold.
If you applied for a Bachelor's here at the CIA, you will have BPS under your name, along with the color of your chosen program. 

I remember when I was a Senior at my High School, I went to a Vo tech school for culinary arts, and which was fun. It was called LCCTC. At that campus we have a on campus restaurant that serves the public and that really provided a more real world experience to the program which does help out. At LCCTC we also wore uniforms there, it was a four button chef coat, with it's logo on the right sleeve, ACF logo above our left breast pocket, our name was colored black. Every time I walk around in my uniform I just feel a sense of pride of wearing that, and just feels good to be wearing the coat. Also able to represent LCCTC's Culinary program. 

Our hat, basically a toque where we must wear to the kitchens. For LCCTC I had to wear a floppy hats, which was fine, and seeing some students trying to make it a beret. Here we get at least 10, and they are disposable. One time I had one of my toque had been signed by Thomas Keller. 

Very exciting! 

We have to wear a neckerchief, which is required and sometimes chefs will look at you and if you do not have a neckerchief, they will just refuse serving you food.

It starts out small folded up triangle.

Then a Big Triangle!

Then it is rolled into this. 

Then it is tied like a tie, around your neck and put underneath the chef coat .

The purpose of the neckerchief is that it is to protect your neck and throat from possible hot steam that may come at you. Remember steam is hotter than boiling! 

Our checkered pants where we must wear to class. 

 CIA also have it's own towels for the students for the kitchen classes. We are given 3 side towels, and if you are a student here, sometimes these towels can be stolen so you better watch out!

An apron where we also wear to our kitchen classes. It covers from the lower portion of your stomach down to your upper thigh. We are given three aprons, and one bistro apron which basically covers the whole entire leg to the ankle. 

Shoes here are also need to be appropriate for the kitchen, they must be non slip and have close toes. 

At Your Service: 

Here are the CIA we not only learn cooking we also learning Front of the House. Front of the house is a term used, meaning it is the dining room. Back of the House is the kitchen. Students who are servers, and after seeing the majority taking their wine classes wear a different uniform. Especially in the culinary program. 

A simple white button down shirt, with green letter CIA. Any tie color offered by the school, a black vest, and black pants.   

The Baking and Pastry have their own Front of the House uniforms, where it is a blue chef coat, having Apple Pie Bakery logo somewhere on their jackets, and their name on the right. They wear black pants and black aprons. They work in the Apple Pie Bakery cafe where it is a non reservation restaurant where people can just enjoy. Very delicious and hopefully you should able to visit and eat there. 

Here at the Culinary Institute of America, professionalism matters, and where our uniforms make a part of that. Hopefully that might help, or just what is it like here at the CIA. 

Bye, and please come again.