Aprons

START WITH A BOTTLE OF FIDDLEHEAD SEVEN TWENTY EIGHT PINOT.

Then add:

• Ribeye steak, tender as a mother's kiss and quick-seared over an open flame.
• Farm-fresh butter melting into golden pools on fresh baked potatoes as flakey as a Colorado snowfall.
• Finish with velvety-smooth Belgian Chocolate mousse topped with brandy-infused whipped cream and red ripe raspberries.

That's the Five-Star dinner my new Five-Star employer was famous for.

It was my first day as a server at my new job. This was going to be a big step up for me as a professional server. I'd probably double - or even triple - the tips I got at my old job. I was excited to be working there. 

And then I saw the apron they gave me to wear while serving these $500 meals.

It had faded from its original dark black to a dingy gray. It was tattered and stained and frayed around all the seams.

It wouldn't have been OK for a waitress at a greasy-spoon truck-stop diner to wear. It was not remotely appropriate to a Five-Star dining experience.

I was horrified.

I had to present the best possible image to give my guests the experience they deserved. My apron was the first thing my guests saw when I approached the table since my apron is eye-level with them.

"What are my guests going to think of me with this horrid, ugly, low-quality apron? What are they going to think of my restaurant?"

So, I decided to design my own apron. I made it exactly the way I wanted it and added all the features I knew I needed.

When me colleagues at the restaurant saw my new apron, they asked me to make one for them. Then the management noticed and asked me to supply aprons for the entire wait staff. Then the company that owned our restaurant asked me to provide aprons for all the properties they owned.

That's how it started.

Since 1987, I have poured love and a somewhat obsessive commitment to quality into everything I make. My aprons and tablet pouches are designed for professionals with higher standards.