Best Chef Coats for Women

Sep 17

Cooking is a skill that historically has been seen as a woman's craft. Women and their labor in the kitchen are seen as nurturing, loving, feminine. Cooking is an expected duty of women, and not often seen as a career path. At the same time, almost paradoxically, male chefs are seen as powerful status symbols. For men, being a great chef brings pride, fame, reverence, and power.

Despite history and traditional roles, people's perceptions have changed. Now, people are more likely to picture a man than a woman when they hear the title "chef". For me, I picture a bearded dude with his arms crossed, a bandana, a classic chefs coat, more tattoos than I can count, and a knife in his hand. Who do you think of when I say "chef"?

Names like Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain, and Guy Fiereri now dominate the mainstream conversation about food. Although the demographics of culinary chefs is primarily men, the trend of men outnumbering women is changing in the personal chef industry.

The personal chef industry favors women. From 2010 to 2021, the percentage of personal chefs who identify as women rose from 46.39% to 50.60% (a slight majority compared to men).

Now, if over half the personal chef industry is women, why can't I find a feminine chef coat that is professional and lets me express my personality?

This is the question I've been asking myself since I started my personal chef business in 2016.

Earlier this year, I came across Hannah Staddon's business, Funky Chef Co. FINALLY! Women's chef coats created by a woman that are fitted and flattering to a curvy shape. Yay!

And that's not all, Funky Chef jackets are made in beautiful, vibrant designs that are stylish and unique while maintaining a professional look.

Keep reading to learn more about my top two choices for women's chef coats!

Interview with Creator of Best Chef Coat for Women

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Hannah Staddon to interview her about her business, her career as a yacht chef, and much more. We discuss maintaining boundaries as an entrepreneur, Hannah's top three values, the role mentorship has played in her career, and what is missing from the industry for chefs who are women.