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Chef jacket for a hot kitchen

Updated: October 2026

You are on a hot pass in a standard polycotton chef jacket, and the cloth is holding heat against your ribs while the orders keep coming. A chef jacket for a hot kitchen, in this amazon.co.uk set, is a short sleeve with air moving under the arm, not a lighter adjective in a title and not a black cloth that hides the sweat. Mesh panels change the airflow. A stated 190 g/m² is a cloth weight, not a cooling score. Colour is how you see dirt. None of that is a burn barrier. This page assumes you have already chosen a short sleeve for heat. The full nine-row table is the [Chef's jacket comparison](/hub/occupational-safety/chef-s-jacket). This page is from the Products Compared editorial team, dated 20 October 2026. We used the captured amazon row for the Portwest C738, Portwest's datasheet, and the Food Standards Agency's hygiene sheet. We did not measure a kitchen temperature. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are on a hot pass in a standard polycotton chef jacket, and the cloth is holding heat against your ribs while the orders keep coming.

Our top picks

Portwest Portwest C738 Mesh Air Pro jacket

Best overall

Portwest Portwest C738 Mesh Air Pro jacket
8.2/10about £20.00
View offer
Portwest Portwest C733 Cumbria chef jacket

Rank 2

Portwest Portwest C733 Cumbria chef jacket
8.8/10about £17.02
View offer
Whites Chefs Clothing Whites Boston B250 chef jacket

Best value

Whites Chefs Clothing Whites Boston B250 chef jacket
8.4/10about £8.98
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What mesh changes on the pass
  2. 2.What 190 g/m² does and does not tell you
  3. 3.Colour when the kitchen is hot
  4. 4.Who should still look elsewhere

What mesh changes on the pass

The jacket in this set that states mesh is the Portwest C738, shopper link B07ZHMFPK9, at £20.00. The title says short sleeve, Mesh Air Pro, and a concealed stud front. The captured rating is 4.6 from 1,410 reviews, the highest star figure in the nine, and the rank line is 16 in Work Utility and Safety Jackets and Coats rather than Chef Jackets. The details ASIN is B09KHWRKCP. Reviews describe lighter panels under the arms and at the sides, and they mention pen pockets and an apron catch. Portwest's C738 datasheet, dated 29 April 2026 on the copy used here, places MeshAir aerated mesh on the underarm gusset. It also lists a concealed stud front, an apron tab, a sleeve pocket, and a slim fit. The sheet describes a Texpel finish as extremely water resistant and PFAS-free, so water beads on the surface. Beading is not waterproofing. A mesh panel is a hole in the cloth pattern. The amazon saved listing does not state the fibre or the wash temperature, so those sheet lines are the manufacturer's page, not a cell on the marketplace listing. Mesh is not heat-and-flame protection, and it is not EN ISO 11612. Nothing in this set states that standard. One review uses the word coolmax, which is not in the title. A French-language note on the DiULi describes a mesh back that the DiULi title does not state. That is not a second mesh jacket you can specify. If the open question is still forearm cover, that decision is short sleeve vs long sleeve chef jacket.

What 190 g/m² does and does not tell you

The same Portwest sheet states Kingsmill as 65% polyester and 35% cotton at 190 g, machine washable at 60°C. The C733 datasheet uses that Kingsmill weight without the underarm mesh. Same number, different garment. The Whites Boston bullets also say 190 g/m² polycotton, at £8.98, with no mesh and no fibre ratio on amazon. A grams figure tells you the cloth is in a familiar catering band. It does not tell you the jacket will feel cooler than a heavier coat, because this comparison has no temperature measurement and no side-by-side wear trial. Do not import an American fibre ratio. Some C738 text outside this capture swaps the blend to 65% cotton. The Portwest sheet used here says 65% polyester and 35% cotton. Polyester-majority cloth dries faster than cotton-majority cloth and can feel clammy, or melt, if the hazard is flame. On a hot pass the practical gain from the C738 is the underarm mesh and the short sleeve, not a promise that 190 g is a cooling grade. If the sheet's 60°C wash matters to you, confirm it on the label you receive. A 90°C wash in one C738 review is that reviewer's cycle, not a cooling claim.
Portwest Portwest C738 Mesh Air Pro jacket

Testsieger

Portwest Portwest C738 Mesh Air Pro jacket
8.2/10about £20.00
View offer

Colour when the kitchen is hot

White shows dirt. Black hides stains and is a house style. Neither is required by UK law. GOV.UK asks for suitable, clean and, where necessary, protective clothing. It does not name a colour. The Food Standards Agency's Safer Food, Better Business sheet for caterers prefers light-coloured work clothes with no external pockets, because light colours show soil, and it says to change an apron after raw food. A black jacket can look tidy at the pass while the cloth is no longer clean. That is a hygiene problem, not a style win.

Who should still look elsewhere

The C738 is for you if you have chosen a short sleeve, you overheat under the arm, and you will pay £20.00 in this capture for a mesh title with 4.6 from 1,410 reviews. It is not the top pick of the whole comparison. That crown sits on the C733 because of Chef Jackets rank, review file, and a named stud-front short sleeve, which the best chef jacket page explains once. Come back here when the problem is heat, not when the problem is the cheapest stated cloth. The cut is the practical limit. The datasheet says slim fit, the department is men's, and several UK reviews say order one size up. One says women should go up at least one size. Others say true to size. Sleeves are called tight when the size is too small. A slim mesh jacket in the wrong size does not ventilate, because the cloth sits on the skin and the panel cannot move air. The package dimensions in the file, 30 x 20 x 5 cm, are the parcel, not your chest. Look elsewhere if you need a long sleeve, a fibre line printed on the amazon page, or a price near £9 with steel studs and no mesh. The Boston is that cheaper 190 g/m² short sleeve, in a US large, without underarm mesh. Texpel beading is not a burn certificate.

Common questions

What chef jacket works in a very hot kitchen?
In this set, the Portwest C738 short sleeve with Mesh Air Pro under the arm, at £20.00 and 4.6 from 1,410 reviews. It is the title that states the mesh. A lightweight title without a panel, such as the DiULi, is a weaker claim. Mesh moves air on a short sleeve. It does not cover a forearm and it is not flame protection.
What does the Portwest C738 mesh actually do?
Portwest's datasheet places MeshAir on the underarm gusset so air can move where a solid sleeve would sit against you. Reviews describe lighter panels under the arms and at the sides. The body is still Kingsmill polycotton on that sheet, at 190 g. The mesh is not a waterproof layer and not a heat-and-flame rating. The amazon listing itself does not print the fibre.
Should a hot kitchen use white or black?
Use a light colour when you need to see dirt. The FSA's caterers sheet prefers light-coloured work clothes for that reason. Black hides stains and can be a house style. UK law does not require either colour. A note that white reflects heat is a maker's account, not a measured result on these jackets. Clean cloth matters more than the shade.
Is the water-resistant finish a burn barrier?
No. Portwest describes Texpel as a finish that makes water bead, and as PFAS-free. Beading is not a seal, mesh is not waterproof, and neither is EN ISO 11612. A splash of hot liquid can still reach skin through ordinary polycotton or through a mesh panel. If the hazard is flame or a serious scald, this jacket is the wrong control.
Does the C738 run small?
Often enough that you should plan for it. The department is men's, the datasheet says slim fit, and several UK reviews say size up, including at least one size for women. Other reviews say true to size. Tight sleeves show up when the size is too small, which cancels the airflow. Check the chart for the colour you are buying and use the return if the panel sits flat against your skin.

Related pages

How to wash a chef jacket

Chef's jacket

Best chef jacket UK: the top pick and best value

Chef jacket buying guide: checks before you order

Short sleeve vs long sleeve chef jacket in the UK

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest; last checked on 21 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures in the display file.

  1. GOV.UK, staff hygiene in a food business (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. Food Standards Agency, personal hygiene (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. FSA Safer Food, Better Business, Chinese cuisine personal hygiene (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. EUR-Lex, Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 (consolidated) (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. HSE L25, personal protective equipment at work (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Arun District Council, health and safety for food businesses (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Nisbets, buying a chef's jacket (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Portwest C733 product datasheet (retrieved 21 October 2026)