Client story, Uniforms
One Restaurant, Eight Uniforms: How We Dressed Bayleaf From Kitchen to Front Door
Most uniform orders arrive one department at a time: aprons this month, chef coats next quarter, housekeeping whenever someone notices. Bayleaf did the opposite. They came to us with the whole restaurant at once, and it turned into one of our favourite programmes to build.
The brief: one restaurant, one language
Bayleaf wanted every team to look like part of the same house, without every team looking identical. A guest walking in should be able to tell a chef from a steward from housekeeping in a glance, and should read all three as Bayleaf.
That meant working department by department but designing top-down: one palette, one crest, one fabric family, and role differences expressed through colour and layer rather than through different garments.
What we built
- Kitchen: chef coats and chef caps in the brigade colourway, with an executive coat in a heavier cloth and a tailored fit.
- Service: safari shirts and uniform shirts with rolled-sleeve tabs and a chest crest, chosen because the room runs warm and the safari cut lets sleeves stay clean.
- Aprons: two styles rather than one. Denim aprons for the sections that face guests, half aprons for the servers who need speed and pockets more than coverage.
- Housekeeping: a separate colourway in the same fabric, with utility aprons, so the team reads apart at a glance.
- Headwear: caps for the counter and kitchen, embroidered rather than printed.
Why the safari shirt
The safari shirt is underused in Indian restaurants and it deserves more attention. The four-pocket front gives servers real storage without an apron, the cut is loose enough to stay comfortable in a warm dining room, and it reads smart without needing a tie or a waistcoat. For Bayleaf it also carried a subtle heritage note that suited the room.
Ordering department by department means four sets of setup costs and four slightly different shades of the same colour. Ordering together means one dye lot and one look.
Denim aprons for the visible sections
Denim was chosen for the sections guests can see because it ages well and photographs better than flat canvas. The half aprons for the floor team used the same leatherette belt hardware, so the two styles read as a set rather than as two purchases.
What we would tell any restaurant planning the same thing
- Design the whole floor before ordering any of it. Even if you buy in phases, decide the palette and the crest once.
- Use one shirt block in several colours rather than several garments.
- Sample before bulk. Bayleaf approved physical samples of each piece, which caught two fit changes before they became 60 shirts.
- Order the spares with the first batch. Same dye lot, same fit, ready for new hires.
Planning your own programme
Send us your department headcounts and a photograph of your dining room. We will come back with a full-outlet proposal, palette and quote. See more of this work on our work gallery, or WhatsApp +91 98213 34906.
