Chefs are an unlikely style icon, but a style icon nonetheless. Banish from your mind images of stressed lads in chequered pants out the back, scrolling their phone on their break, and instead embrace the real cool of kitchens. Nobody messes about in a kitchen. There’s no time and it’s seriously frowned upon. The urgency and seriousness make this high-pressure environment a place to separate the wheat from the chaff, and if you’re not wearing the right gear, you may as well not bother turning up. And yet these flustered beacons of anxiety represent an uncommon beauty. All that work done behind closed doors creates something beautiful, practical and real. Food can be like that. You need it, we all need to eat, and while there will always be a place for a Pot Noodle in Proper’s world, the idea of a seriously prepared meal in a restaurant where everything is precisely crafted is very much in our interests.
It was perhaps inevitable that kitchen culture would eventually provide a fitting backdrop to a clothing brand, and that’s where Service Works comes in. Focusing on carefully crafted clothing for working in, their well-received ranges are worn in Michelin Star kitchens as well as family-run, destination eateries. They’re worn by people in the know. And naturally, like anything that works well, it has found appreciation outside its native arena.
Starting life back in 2020, Service Works is a brand born from a frustration at the lack of substance in the chefs-wear space and style driven from the industry.
Originating from the founders of the Blacksmith online store, which launched back in 2016, Service Works embraces functional kitchen and restaurant workwear first and foremost, as well as skate culture aesthetic and easy-style mens wearables. It’s an infinitely wearable look that appeals to all ages and backgrounds, which to our mind at least, is what makes it so popular and enduring.
The brand was born after a fact-finding mission Japan in 2019, where founder Tom Chudley, who himself has a background working in kitchens, had noticed a handful of menswear stores that were producing their own brand ‘easy pants’ and chef inspired pants. “We thought that the trousers were a good 3 inches too short and they didn’t have any real tie to the hospitality industry. The connection was more of a conceptual one, so we decided to produce our own chefswear,” he says.
“For us, the connection between cooking and workwear is intrinsic; chefs need something comfortable and affordable to wear both in and outside of the kitchen. Service Works felt like a no-brainer. So we released a tiny run of Service Works Chef’s Trousers on Blacksmith Store during lockdown and had never sold anything so quickly. Luckily, enough people started to resonate with our industry-ready, purpose-built sensibility.”
With a personal pillar shaped by food, drink and cooking and the importance this brings to community and social gatherings, Service Works is built around a cultural shift where people are less concerned with the old industry ‘must-have’ Michelin Stars, instead favouring authenticity and accessibility. “Indulgence doesn’t need to be stuffy or selective. Modern restaurant culture is young, approachable and inclusive, and this is mirrored in our approach to design and functionality, ” adds Tom.
Purposely built for trade and balancing comfort with durability and inclusivity, Service Works uses 100% cotton fabrics, which are more breathable and comfortable to wear than polyester counterparts, which in turn is kinder to the skin and to the environment. An elasticated waist on the highly regarded chef pants allows them to be worn with confidence, and they are manufactured to ‘handle service’.
“Restaurants and kitchens are the foundation of the Service Works brand. Design at Service Works starts with the kitchen and builds outwards,” says Tom.” We fill in gaps in the casual space which we feel are missing, as avid lovers of clothing, either from an aesthetic or accessibility point of view.”
With three key audiences starting with chefs and service industry through to menswear and other trades, Service Works is one of the most affordable lifestyle brands on the market with both pants and jackets driving a go-to for enthusiasts and casual consumers looking for hard-wearing style.
“I think our real hook is that we are one of the only modern workwear brands authentically worn in the Service industry. Unlike other modern workwear, the brand’s connection to the industry is at the forefront of everything we do. We also do everything we can to produce fairly made garments whilst remaining one of the more affordable brands on the market in the lifestyle/workwear space,” adds Tom.
Built around the idea that good, quality workwear should be accessible, Service Works, from the outset, wanted to make sure the product was affordable for people actually working in the service industry and not priced in a way that made it unrealistic as a daily uniform. “We have managed the price point by staying consistent with our core fabrics and fits, and by building long-term relationships with our suppliers who understand the product and what people working in kitchens actually need from it,” Tom says. “We keep the garments simple and produce them in consistent volumes, which helps us work efficiently without cutting corners on fabric or construction.”
“Clothing worn in a kitchen cannot cost a fortune, but that does not mean quality should be compromised. By focusing on durable fabrics and practical design, we are able to offer well-made garments at a price that feels fair for the supplier as well as the customer.”
As the brand matures, doors to partnerships and collaborations open and 2026 already has some exciting projects coming up. In the recent past, Service Works has collaborated with Bass on a capsule range, iconic restaurant St John and there is an Oyster Shucker made by a steel manufacturer in Sheffield on the horizon. “When we collaborate with another brand or manufacturer, we always want to create something that we don’t have the production means to do ourselves. Working with experts and craftspeople to create a one of a kind product,” adds Tom.
For the latest Kitchen Garden SS26 collection visit www.serviceworks.xyz
