Hacks and tips for chefs to survive a hot summer in the kitchen 🔥

About a month ago we hit up our insta audience and asked for the best summertime hacks for chefs to survive long hot days in the kitchen - here are the best and most popular answers,  hopefully there's something new in here for you to try out this summer ✨

1) The most overwhelmingly popular answer was to take a damp towel (or chux or similar) put it in the freezer to cool it down and then put it around your neck under  your collar - this is definitely a tried and true summertime kitchen hack.

2) Drinks & Ice-blocks - Zooper Doopers came out on top in this category, load up the freezer and rip in! Honourable mentions to semi-frozen aloe vera drink and cold brew coffee. My personal favourite summertime kitchen drink is a big jug of 1/3 apple juice 1/3 soda water 1/3 water (and plenty of ice!) refreshing as hell!

3) Compression tights - I had NEVER heard of this! (for use in a hot kitchen anyway) but it turns out that chefs in the know are wearing compression shorts (yes the activewear) under their chef trousers and it's an absolute game changer. A quick search on google confirms "They offer warmth during cold morning or winter workouts, and they feature breathable quick-drying fabric that keeps you cool and dry as temperatures heat up." A must try!

4) Popular chafing solutions 😅 - 3B action cream / body glide / cornstarch

5) Roll up your chef pants or wear shorts - I can't legally condone this one because of the obvious safety hazard but there are some hotter than hell kitchens out there and you've gotta do what you've gotta do! The most popular response was to wear 'tradie' shorts or Dickies 15" long shorts

6) Stepping out of your shoes and directly on to the floor in the walk in freezer is an absolute haaaaaaack!

7) Nitrogen bandanas! Not every kitchen has liquid nitrogen lying around but if you do - steep a towel in it and wrap it around your head!

8) Breathable chef jackets - watch this space! We will have you sorted next summer!

Thank you so much to everybody who contributes to our polls, there are some mad hacks in here and hopefully they will help your summer days in the kitchen be a little more bearable..