The catering and food service industry can be brutal on your body if you're not prepared. A bad pair of shoes might make your feet scream in agony but the effects can be felt through the rest of your body as well. No matter what you're doing in catering - be it the back of the house or the front of the house - you need to have good quality shoes to support you and keep you and your staff safe during every event.
By no means does that mean you need to run out and buy the most expensive name brand safety shoes for the food industry. You can get great quality and safety at even low prices. What matters is not the price tag but two very important factors for someone in the restaurant and catering industry - safety and comfort. You can't be on your feet all day without some kind of comfortable support and you certainly can go zipping around a kitchen among water, grease, food debris or worse and expect to stay safe with no-skid shoes. Here are some things to look at and consider when shopping for shoes.
Bonding Film Vs Seams - Just about everything we manufacture in this day and age uses bonding film in some form or another. It's a stronger alternative to traditional seams and a good bonding film will keep your soles from falling off when working around corrosive cleaning agents, grease and moisture. Get a shoe with a great bonding agent that won't fall apart on you in 2 months.
Seam placement - Some shoes are just poorly designed for the kitchen environment and have seam placement that causes discomfort, especially when crouching or kneeling. Find shoes with a minimal seam count and different seam placement for added comfort while working.
Shape - You want to find the best shape when you're trying to find shoes for yourself and your catering employees. Not only will the shape influence comfort while performing your job duties but they offer appropriate safety and protection. A well-shaped shoe for the kitchen environment offers more grip and sole to floor material ratio than a traditional shoe for improved traction.
Catering Equipment - Laces - The laces that come with most shoes are useless in a heavy duty work environment with constant moisture and grease exposure. It won't be long before stock laces start to fall apart as you tug and tie them. Invest in new heavy duty laces as soon as you get your new shoes to ensure that your laces stay tight and won't fall apart in the middle of a busy event.
No-Skid - These shoes are the best choice for obvious reasons: You're working around food, water and grease for hours at a time. The odds of slipping are pretty high for this type of work, so you need something that offers superior traction over normal tennis shoes or sneakers. Without no-slip protection you could wind up with regularly injured employees.
You should expect to pay more for a good set of safe, comfortable shoes for the catering business but don't worry about breaking the bank. With the right research you can find quality shoes that will last for a year or more without wearing out on your when you need them most.
The search for quality catering equipment is finally over. You can finally inject real elegance into your service offering, from the simple elegance of the stainless steel chafing dish to the quality of the ornate dessert stand, CateringEquipment.com has something for every event caterer.