PROJECT MISE EN PLACE
Chef Neil Perry has been an icon of the Australian food scene for nearly 45 years. Margaret is a deeply personal project for him, lovingly named after his late mother, with a focus on bringing Double Bay top-tier food and hospitality built on decades of experience. This is no neighbourhood restaurant, though. Margaret is #2 in the world’s 101 best steak restaurants and #1 in Australia.
We were introduced to Neil by industrial designer David Caon, who was involved in the interior design of the restaurant alongside ACME. The next natural step in putting together the story of the venue was getting the staff suited up. They knew they wanted both front and back of house to have a cohesive uniform, but hadn’t quite figured out what that was going to look like. We invited them to our Surry Hills design studio for a meeting to discuss further.
“The guys at Margaret really care about the little details. It is apparent from the moment you walk through the door that you are in good hands; the uniforms are part of that experience, and we are glad that we have created an apron that works seamlessly for that space.”
- Huw Bennett, Worktones Director
PROCESS NOTES
The bespoke design process was especially smooth - Neil came into the studio accompanied by David; we went over colours, fabrics and specific details they were dreaming up. After a run-through of our ready-to-wear range, we landed on workshopping our existing Mo Apron in Rust that matched the warmth of the materials in the space.
The goal was for both front and back of house to wear bespoke aprons that looked like they belonged together while serving different functions. This was achieved by experimenting with pocket placements and length. We wrapped up within the hour, design details locked in, and the garments were off to production.
“A well-designed bespoke garment has longevity; in the case of Margaret, they have been wearing our aprons for five years now. We developed a good product that works in the venue, and the reordering process has been seamless since day one”
- Huw Bennett, Worktones Director
ORDER UP
Back-of-House wear a bespoke apron modelled after our Mo apron in Rust, with pockets removed for a sleeker look and added length to provide additional protection in the kitchen, bringing the total length to 100cm and the restaurant’s wordmark embroidered on the chest.
Front-of-House wear a similar bespoke apron, same rust colour, same lenght of 100cm, and embroidered branding, while keeping the original Mo apron waist pocket and tea towel loop but with an added custom pocket across the chest.
We also branded aprons for Margaret’s collaboration with the world's #1 Steak restaurant, Don Julio Parrilla. A special occasion worthy of a special uniform with both restaurant names embroidered across the chest.
Staff at sister venue Gran Torino wear the same bespoke back-and-front-of-house aprons in off-white, while staff at Cafe Margaret wear our Mo Apron in Natural.
