Chef Uniform and Hygiene Policy for Japanese Restaurants

At an open sushi counter, the chef's appearance is part of the meal. Guests see the white coat, the headwear, the hands. Behind the scenes, the same clothing is a food safety control that inspectors check. A uniform and hygiene policy covers both: what staff wear and how they keep themselves and the food safe.

This guide separates what the law requires (with verified examples from the US, UK and Australia) from what is simply good practice for a Japanese kitchen. Keep that distinction clear in your own policy, so staff know which rules are legal requirements and which are your standards.

1. What the policy needs to cover

• What each role wears: kitchen, counter, front of house.
• Who supplies, pays for and launders it.
• Hair, beards, jewellery, nails, cosmetics and fragrance.
• Handwashing, and when gloves or utensils are used.
• Illness: what staff must report and when they must not work with food.
• Eating, drinking and smoking.
• Footwear and protective equipment.

2. Who pays for uniforms

If you require a uniform, several jurisdictions put the cost on you, at least in part.

United States (federal)

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act regulations, the cost of uniforms and their laundering, where the nature of the business requires the employee to wear a uniform, is not something an employer can count as part of wages (29 CFR 531.3(d)(2)(iii)). And under the "free and clear" rule in 29 CFR 531.35, costs the employer requires the employee to bear for the employer's benefit cannot cut into the minimum wage or required overtime pay.

California

IWC Wage Order 5, which covers restaurants, says that when uniforms are required by the employer as a condition of employment, the employer must provide and maintain them. The order defines "uniform" to include wearing apparel and accessories of distinctive design or color. A branded chef's jacket or a specific coloured apron is likely to be a uniform in this sense; ask your adviser about borderline items.

Australia

The Restaurant Industry Award 2020 (as consolidated to 1 July 2026), clause 21.5, requires the employer to reimburse an employee who is required to wear special clothing for the cost of any such clothing not supplied or paid for by the employer. If the employee launders required special clothing, the employer must pay an agreed weekly laundry allowance or, without agreement, reimburse the laundering cost. The clause excludes shoes, hosiery, socks and black and white attire that is not part of a uniform or formal clothing.

United Kingdom

GOV.UK guidance on the National Minimum Wage says items a worker buys for the job and is not refunded for, including uniform, count against pay when checking minimum wage compliance. Its worked example involves a worker paying for uniform rental whose pay fell below the minimum as a result, and who was owed arrears.

3. Legal hygiene rules: verified examples

United Kingdom

The retained Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter VIII requires every person working in a food handling area to maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and to wear suitable, clean and, where necessary, protective clothing. It also says that nobody suffering from, or carrying, a disease likely to be transmitted through food, or with infected wounds, skin infections, sores or diarrhoea, may handle food or enter a food handling area if there is any likelihood of contamination, and that such staff must report the illness or symptoms to the food business operator immediately.

United States: California as an example

In the US, hygiene rules are set by each state, largely based on the FDA Food Code model. California's Retail Food Code (in the Health and Safety Code) includes:

• Hair restraints (section 113969): food employees preparing, serving or handling food or utensils must wear hair restraints such as hats, hair coverings or nets designed to keep hair from contacting unpackaged food and clean equipment. Counter staff who serve only beverages and wrapped foods, hosts and wait staff may be exempt if they present minimal risk.
• Clean outer clothing (section 113971).
• Respiratory symptoms (section 113974): employees with persistent sneezing, coughing or runny nose with discharges that cannot be controlled by medication must not work with exposed food, clean equipment or unwrapped single use utensils.
• Eating, drinking and tobacco (section 113977): only in designated areas, although a food employee may drink from a closed container handled to prevent contamination.

Other states have their own versions; check the code your inspector enforces.

4. Gloves and bare hands at the sushi counter

For sushi restaurants in the US this question matters more than any other hygiene rule. The rules differ by state, so do not rely on what another restaurant does.

California section 113961 says food employees must minimise bare hand and arm contact with non-prepackaged ready-to-eat food, and must use non-latex utensils (scoops, forks, tongs, paper wrappers, gloves or other implements) to assemble ready-to-eat food or place it on tableware. However, it allows food employees to assemble or place ready-to-eat food without utensils in an approved food preparation area if hands are cleaned in accordance with section 113953.3. Note also the non-latex requirement for gloves.

What this means for your counter depends on how your preparation area is approved and on your local health department's interpretation. Ask them before opening, in writing, and train your chefs on the handwashing procedure the exception depends on. Outside California, check the state's own rule on bare hand contact.

5. House rules for a Japanese kitchen

The following are common standards, not legal requirements. Write them as your house rules.

• Kitchen whites. A white chef's coat (白衣) or Japanese style jacket, apron (前掛け) and headwear such as a Japanese cook's cap (和帽子) or a hat or bandana. Specify colours so the counter looks consistent.
• Enough sets. At least one clean set per shift, plus spares at work. A sushi chef who splashes their coat during prep should be able to change before service.
• Nails short and clean, no nail polish or false nails for anyone handling food.
• Jewellery. Remove rings (except perhaps a plain band), bracelets and watches before handling food.
• No strong fragrance at the counter. Guests are tasting delicate fish.
• Non-slip, closed footwear in the kitchen.
• Handwashing on entering the kitchen, after breaks, after handling raw fish or meat, after touching the face or phone, and between tasks.
• Phones kept out of the preparation area.

Apply the rules to everyone, including the owner and guest chefs. Allow reasonable adjustments for religious dress and medical needs where they can be made safely, and write down how you handled each request.

6. Rolling it out

1. Write the policy in Japanese and the local language, and mark which rules are legal requirements.
2. Include it in the contract pack and the first day induction (see onboarding a chef from Japan).
3. Post a one page visual version by the kitchen entrance: what to wear, where to wash hands.
4. Train on it alongside the food safety course (see food safety certification by country).
5. Check it daily at the pre-service briefing. Correct privately and quickly.
6. Review it once a year and after any inspection.

For knives, see the separate knife and tools policy guide.

General information, not legal advice. Food hygiene rules are enforced locally; confirm requirements with the authority that inspects your restaurant.