The phrase “dress the part” comes to mind for me when cooking at home. Sure, my husband’s “Kiss the Cook” apron is a fun standby and my French Maid version with lace trim does the trick. But when you’re getting real about cooking, you need a real apron – one that will be your own personal helper, keeping you clean, keeping kitchen tools handy, and helping you look like you’ve got this cooking thing! To test out bib aprons for our food and travel e-zine, my husband and I gave a couple of legit  and very stylish restaurant aprons a try in our home kitchen. Here’s what we thought about them.  BONUS: Find out how to enter to win a $25 e-gift card, below, to get your own.

One of the positive things that has come from the pandemic is the new or renewed (as the case may be) interest in cooking at home. With that, comes more interest in kitchen equipment, cookware, recipes, and other accessories. Something that is a common “thread” (pun intended) through all of that is the need to protect our clothes when we cook with a good apron. I’ve never understood how TV chefs can make a meal right in front of us and NOT get a splatter here and there! (Maybe they have exact replacement shirts at the ready?) But we mere mortal home cooks can ruin a good piece of clothing with one errant splash, bubble, smear, or splatter. Cooking well is messy work!

That’s why I was so excited when the folks from ChefUniforms.com offered to send me two apron styles of my choosing to try out as I find myself cooking, baking, and cleaning up more than I have in years! I jumped at the chance, especially because their aprons are the real deal – the look, style, functionality, and durability of actual chef and server aprons. I’ve always had a thing for restaurants whose staff (even waitstaff, cuz that’s messy work) wear sturdy aprons that include tough but elegant details like grommets, pockets, ties that won’t fray and my personal favorite, a strap of fabric over which to drape a hand towel! Call me a freak but I get a little giddy over a good looking, durable, functional apron. Plus, by dressing the part, it makes me feel like I work in some charming neighborhood bistro.

Before you start cooking, grab the tools you’ll need and keeping them handy with the deep pockets of the restaurant aprons. Take advantage of the dishtowel strap on the other side too.

Stylish Restaurant Aprons for the Home Cook

The aprons we chose were the Cross Back Denim Bib Apron ($25.99) and the Bold Stripes Bib Apron ($21.99). Both had the strap for holding a hand towel which came in so handy because I’m always laying the towel down somewhere then have to look for it when I need it again. The deep pockets meant I could keep a few key kitchen tools at-the-ready to avoid having to find them when it was time to use them.

My husband and I thought the aprons were great-looking, weren’t hot (with their durable fabric, I was worried they would be), had long-enough ties to tie around front if we wanted, and washed really well. While I’m the bread baker in the family (flour, everywhere), my husband runs the BBQ. Wearing them to use as a grilling apron, ChefUniform’s products really inspired some delicious cookout food ideas. He used our samples as a grilling apron several times and loved them.

The cross back straps on this apron style look great but can be tricky to put on and take off.straps

Something to Consider When Choosing Apron Styles

The only negative came with the Cross Back aspect of the one apron – the very thing that I love about it, looks-wise, can become a slight struggle to put on and take off due to their length and criss-cross action.  But that’s only a problem if you try to leave the straps in position as you remove the apron and try to slip into it for the next wearing. Maybe it’s because we’re amateurs at this pro-bib-wearing but we found it was just easier to pull the straps out of their grommets at the waist so they were hanging free when we took them off. Then, much like putting on a baby sling, you just throw the straps over your shoulders, cross them behind you, pull them through the grommets and tie at the waist. It just takes a little more getting used to than the standard over-your-head-strap style. But to look that cool and professional is totally worth it to us!

Check out the ChefUniforms.com website to see some of their other offerings that include, as they explained it to me, “chef gear at affordable prices for chefs and cooks in and out of the kitchen. They have a wide selection of high quality cooking apparel and uniforms at discount prices in a variety of sizes, colors, and styles to please any chef or budget whether they be at home or in the kitchen.” Take note of their blog too, which has some great recipes and culinary tips. Keep cooking up a storm but keep the mess down and look like you know what you’re doing, even if you don’t.

WINNING! The folks at ChefUniforms.com were kind enough to offer one lucky RealFoodTraveler.com subscriber a $25 e-giftcard to use on their website. The deadline to sign up to be entered is midnight, May 31. Click here to subscribe.

Hungry for more? An apron may keep your clothes cleaner but you’ll keep your table cloth cleaner with this handy product. Read about the Grill Masters Club which is a great gift for the griller in your life (even if that’s you). Check out our other recommendations for foodie-themed items in this section of Real Food Traveler.

Please note: We received two aprons of our choice to facilitate this review. However, as is always our policy, our opinions are our own, honest and true. 

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