Le Chef marks 20th anniversary with Soho parade

Chef uniform manufacturer Le Chef has celebrated 20 years in business by holding a parade through Soho backed by a saxophonist.

The group of chefs and Le Chef employees set off from Denny's Uniforms on Dean Street in London's Soho, where it was offering 20% off clothing, and marched to Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club where Denny's and Le Chef hosted a celebratory evening. They brought together chefs present at the launch of the Le Chef range 20 years ago to celebrate the milestone.

Le Chef co-founder Mark Gregory said: "For 20 years, the iconic Le Chef brand has been at the forefront of design, technology and innovation, drawing on my first-hand experience of years of kitchen life as a chef. The success of Le Chef is due to the unique combination of an experienced chef identifying and designing clothing specifically for kitchen life, coupled with technologically advanced lighter weight cloths."

Theresa Johnson, who has just retired as store manager at Denny's in Dean Street, said much had changed in the 20 years since the Le Chef range was introduced.

"Back then we stocked just three jackets and three aprons and nobody even considered using colour," she said. "Now we offer over 50 choices of jacket in any number of colours.

"These days our customers are influenced by TV chefs and are more conscious of style. Sizes are also slightly smaller as chefs tend to be cooking and eating more healthily."