Working in a restaurant kitchen can be an exhilarating experience. You can start working as a kitchen hand and progress to becoming a chef if you have the talent and dedication. Then you have the opportunity to create dishes for customers to enjoy which gives you a great sense of satisfaction.
However, there are downsides to working in a restaurant kitchen. For instance, the environment can be damaging to your skin and your clothing. There is also the chance that accidents will happen. Fortunately, there are ways that you can reduce the risk to your health and the way you look.
Wearing protective clothing
One of the easiest ways to protect yourself in a kitchen environment is to wear protective clothing. Professional chef aprons are designed to provide protection against the food and liquid that is commonplace in any professional kitchen. Wearing one of these aprons helps to protect you against burns and also protects your clothing against staining and damage.
Protecting the skin
Working in a restaurant kitchen can be bad for the skin. Chefs and other kitchen workers are at an increased risk of developing skin disorders and suffering injuries to the skin.
One of the main issues that a chef can experience is contact dermatitis. Development of this problem happens due to prolonged exposure to wet work, sanitizers and other chemicals that are commonly used in a kitchen. Acne is another problem that can be common in the kitchen due to the proliferance of oil and grease.
There is always a risk that you will suffer from a skin problem when you work in a kitchen, but you can make this less likely to happen. In order to do so, you should wash your hands and forearms often while you are working. You should also refrain from touching your face during food preparation or while you are washing down surfaces.
In addition to taking these actions in work, you should also wash your skin thoroughly when you are home and establish a regular moisturising routine. Taking all these actions helps to protect your skin and keep it looking good.
Guarding against injury
Restaurant workers are often exposed to injury because they regularly work with sharp implements and naked flames. If you are working in a restaurant kitchen, it’s all too easy to cut or burn your hands, fingers and arms. If you suffer an injury, you could also be at risk of secondary infections, so avoiding injury as much as possible is important.
There are several things that you can do to reduce the risk of injury including:
- Wearing protective gloves when handling hot pans or dealing with hot oil.
- Wearing shoes that are non-skid.
- Refraining from carrying oil when it’s hot.
- Never leaning over any surface that is hot, such as a burner.
It’s also important that you know where the fire extinguishers are and where you can get access to first aid.
Working in a restaurant kitchen can be a great experience. There are some drawbacks to the work, but if you take the right actions you can protect the way you look, and your health, while you are working.
