Proper Footwear for the Back of the House

Wearing the correct shoes in the kitchen is as important as wearing pants, when it comes to protecting your staff from injury. The wrong shoe can grind a cook's feet and legs into forcemeat, turn spilled boiling water into a burning issue, or worse, send someone slipping onto the floor. Getting the right shoe on everyone's feet is the ideal fit for every restaurant.

Plenty of shoes don't belong in the back of the house, and the athletic variety tops the list. Though relatively inexpensive, "gym" shoes are comfortable and lightweight. But they don't measure up with any of the safety standards that work shoes are designed to meet. Step into a wet spot on a kitchen tile floor wearing a brand-name sneaker and the next step is sure to be getting up from the backside. A greasy floor is an even slicker way to take a dive. Athletic shoes also fail to offer protection from spills, chills or anything sharp. They are the wrong shoe for a commercial kitchen, and if your restaurant doesn't ban employees from wearing them, it should. Slips and falls are the most common injuries in the back of the house; they cost the restaurant in terms of increased workers' compensation insurance premiums and worker downtime. Keeping the staff safe in the kitchen means keeping the correct gear on them.