MEET OUR DESIGNER, CHEF KATIE BAKER
Growing up, Katie had two passions: cooking and clothes. Her love for cooking started when she was 13 years old. She started cooking dinner for her family of six while her mom worked as a nurse. “By 16, I was devouring cookbooks plus making steak au poivre and crème brûlée for fun,” Katie says.
Her love for sewing and design started young as well. “When I was in 5th grade, I helped my mom design my own “Multiples” styled clothes that were very trendy at the time,” she says. “I also took a sewing class in high school, and I worked at a clothing and accessories boutique.”
When the time came for her to decide what career path to take, Katie was in between culinary school and studying fashion merchandising. Having to pick one or the other, she ended up choosing fashion because it seemed safer and more interesting at the time.
Even though she loved working as a designer, the kitchen was always the place she went when her design job was causing stress. After more than 10 years of working as a clothing designer, she quit her job, moved to Austin TX, and enrolled in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School. From there, Katie worked in a variety of venues including a food truck, catering business, bake shop and even starting her own side hustle of in-home cooking classes.
As time went on, Katie decided to move back to her hometown in Memphis to be closer to family. “I worked in a bakery for a few months in Memphis, but it was hard to make ends meet on a bakery hourly wage.”
And this brought her to where she is now.
“Working at Chefwear brought my two passions into one,” says Katie. “I was able to design again, but not only that - I’m able to design for an industry that truly has my heart.”
Here at Chefwear, we are so thankful and fortunate to have Katie and her expertise. Not only is she an amazing designer, but she also knows what works and what doesn’t in the kitchen.
“As a chef, I design culinary uniforms that move with you. Designed with every detail you need so you are not thinking about your clothes, you can focus on your craft of creating stellar food.”