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LAST SUMMER, DISNEY + INTRODUCED THE WORLD to a perpetually stressed chef with biceps the size of beef wellingtons. His name was Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (played by Shameless’ Jeremy Allen White) and the eight-part TV show, The Bear, detailed his struggles with grief and combustable co-workers as he battled to keep his late brother’s sandwich shop from going under. It didn’t take long for social media to take a liking to him. And looking back, it wasn’t his Dune-hued eyes or mad tousled hair that made the biggest impression on viewers, but the unassuming uniform he was cooking up a storm in: that snug, suspiciously stain-free white T-shirt. It makes a glorious return in season two, which airs in Australia next month.

“jeremy allen white in The Bear is so hot that man wears a white t shirt so good,” said one Twitter user during the first season’s run, while others contemplated how they could pull off the look themselves. We duly identified where the specific tee was from (German brand Merz b. Schwanen, FYI) such was its surprise impact. But it makes sense, really. Being able to whip up a good meal is already an attractive trait in a man; place that man in a muscle-gripping tee and douse him in sea salt spray, and he’s destined for the Hot Guy Hall of Fame. Because a chef’s style adds to their appeal, and the most stylish chefs of all-time are always worth celebrating. So, let’s do just that.

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Cast your mind back to the early nineties, when young chef Marco Pierre White, Knorr stock pot ads but a gelatinous gleam in his eye, was making his first great waves in the London culinary scene. He was the first British chef to receive three Michelin stars, thanks to his exploits at Harveys, the small-but-influential French restaurant on Wandsworth Common, but that only tells half the story.

Marco Pierre White style
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A Hollywood-handsome rock star in a chef’s apron, his bolshy swagger brought him legions of fans, as did his wavy mop of brown hair, sporty trainers and ability to bring insouciant cool to simple kitchen whites. It was all immortalised by the late photographer Bob Carlos Clarke, a regular visitor to the restaurant, in the 1990 book White Heat; part-autobiography, part-cookbook, full-on ode to the rockstar appeal of the man himself. Upon release, it was described by The Independent as a “Marco Pierre White fanzine-with-recipes”. (If you haven’t already, you should give his 1989 kitchen docuseries, Marco, a watch. He brings a young Gordon Ramsay to tears). His off-duty wardrobe was just as impressive but far more replicable, with its rollnecks and check-print blazers (pictured up top).

Talking of books you should read and men you should dress like: the late, great Anthony Bourdain gained critical acclaim with his best-selling insider guide Kitchen Confidential in 2000, but the American chef’s wardrobe came to the fore via his various travelogues, most notably Parts Unknown. In these far flung trips, he alternates between neutral summer suits and Steve McQueen sunnies, untucked dress shirts and Breton tees layered under chunky knits.

Not the makings of a style icon, granted, but Bourdain immersed himself into each destination with chameleon-like ease — and his comfort-driven wardrobe, tastefully put together, probably had something to do with that. One exception to the easy-breezy rule: a leather blazer that seemed to be sadly phased out in the mid-noughties.

Anthony Bourdain style
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If you were wondering where best to acquire chef-approved clothes, Fergus Henderson, co-founder of London nose-to-tail institution St. John, can provide the answer. While fashion and food have been crossing over for years now — APC olive oil, anyone? — the recent collaboration between Savile Row haberdasher Drake’s and the renowned English restaurant shows that it has truly reached boiling point. Alongside flying pig-print Shetland jumpers, cord trousers and silk bandanas, a butcher’s stripe moleskin jacket pays homage to the chef-patron — who has always possessed a standout sense of style. He’s often pictured in a three-piece suit of the same stripe, but also regularly dons French cotton-twill jackets, colour-contrasting suit braces and equally bold shirts. And why the collab now? Because St. John has style, says Michael Hill, Drake’s creative director in the Esquire Summer issue. “Not just in terms of the way they present themselves, but knowing how to live.”

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While chefs were traditionally cooped up in restaurant kitchens, rarely showing face to customers, the rise of Instagram and TikTok cooking content is changing that — and even better, outfit inspiration can be easily found without traipsing through old biographies. Thomas Straker, who has gone from IG’s resident butter wizard to opening his own restaurant, Straker’s, in Notting Hill, is worth a watch, favouring West London prep with a bit of gorpcore mixed in. He even anointed Oliver Spencer with the job of designing his staff uniforms. Julius Roberts (loves a knit), Willy of What Willy Cook (forever in a slogan cap) and Calum Harris (the man for cool print shirts) also match their culinary prowess with very nice clothes.

As the second season of The Bear is about to hit our screens, I urge you not to fall into the trap of obsessing over Carmy’s white tee. Not when there are real-life cooks to look to for inspiration — and if that means booking some tables for research purposes, so be it.

This article by Carmen Bellot originally appeared on Esquire UK.