Unsure about the standards that your kitchen shoes must meet for working safely in food service and catering? We fully understand the problem, so here, we present footwear specialist recommendations for choosing the right work shoes.

The purpose of professional kitchen footwear is to provide comfort and protection against strain in the legs and back. If you work in a commercial kitchen, canteen, restaurant, or catering, or as a butcher, delicatessen employee, or chef, you spend long hours on your feet. Therefore, we’ll tell you more about why safety shoes are essential for kitchen work, and how to choose shoes with just the right features for you.

Minimise the risk of falling by choosing non-slip shoes for the kitchen

Did you know that a quarter of all reported accidents at work are caused by slipping or falling? This is why most work shoes for food service industries have anti-slip properties. In a kitchen or canteen with tile flooring, where water, oil, and other liquids are spilled, the floors can become a veritable ice rink. Minimise the risk of accidents at work by choosing non-slip shoes for cooking and kitchen work. To see whether work shoes are non-slip and for kitchen use, check for one of the following markings: SRA, SRB, or SRC.

Here is an explanation of what this means:

• SRA means that the outsole is step-tested on ceramic tile wetted with diluted soap solution.
• SRB means that the outsole is step-tested on smooth steel plate with glycerol.
• SRC means that the outsole is both SRA and SRB tested.

When you look for your non-slip work shoes at Cheap-workwear.com, tick the “cook” box, and under “properties”, you can choose SRA and SRC. The search will return hits for precisely the non-slip shoes that we offer for kitchen wear.

You can also use the links here:

Non-slip kitchen shoes, ladies

Non-slip kitchen shoes, men

Non-slip sandals, ladies

Non-slip sandals, men

Water-repellent kitchen shoes protect against water and oil

Let’s return for a moment to the risk of spilled water and oil in a kitchen environment. In addition to protecting your feet from getting wet, water-repellent kitchen shoes protect against hot water and oil. Should your feet be unlucky enough to be exposed to hot water or oil, water-repellent kitchen shoes reduce the risk of burns. Therefore, most work shoes for chefs and kitchen staff are water-repellent.

Do you remember that we mentioned O2 above? This marking tells you that the shoes are water-repellent safety footwear for kitchen use. If you’re searching at Cheap-workwear.com for work shoes without safety features, just tick the filter box for safety class O2. Now you can see all of our kitchen shoes that are water-repellent.

Go directly to water-repellent cooking shoes by using these links:

Water-repellent kitchen shoes O2, ladies

Water-repellent kitchen shoes O2, men

Keep your feet in good shape

It is very uncomfortable to walk around in damp shoes. Damp shoes also provide a breeding ground for fungus and can cause smelly feet. Therefore, as footwear specialists, we recommend that you have two pairs of chef or kitchen shoes to switch between daily. The shoes will then have time to dry between each wearing, and this will prolong the life of your chef shoes.

Read more in the blog: “Smelly feet?”.

Another tip to keep your feet dry is to bring a pair of extra socks to work so you can change during the day.

Into leather? Or do you prefer leather-free kitchen shoes?

We offer plenty of kitchen footwear in leather or leather-free alternatives. Some people prefer leather shoes because leather is a natural material that wicks away moisture and allows the feet to breathe. Others choose leather-free kitchen shoes, for example because these shoes are machine washable. Check the labelling for washing instructions to determine whether the shoes can be machine washed.

We hope you found some answers in our footwear specialist's advice that will help you choose foot-friendly food-service shoes. We want you to enjoy your work, even when standing and walking all day in a busy kitchen. Remember: good shoes are a must for standing work.