No man wants to see another man touch his grill.
One way to make it abundantly clear who’s in charge?
Mi Cocina, a line of handcrafted, selvedge denim aprons, made in the USA and available now.
It’s the perfect Father’s Day gift. And the aprons — along with MC’s oven mitts and knife rolls — come with a few surprises.
Hailing from denim expert Ulrich “Ubi” Simpson (Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Coach, etc.), Mi Cocina started with family. Or, actually, with starting a family.
“Mi Cocina was a cause,” says Simpson, a gregarious presence whose other current project, UBI-IND, is about creating great denim for larger guys (which is how he’s developed a following among NFL and NBA players).
“My wife and I were having a baby. So I find myself as a dad, needing an apron … and getting super frustrated by everything out there. Everything for the kitchen was in white or grey and seemed like it was made for my mom. No one’s updated this stuff, so I said, f*ck it, I’ll do it.”
It also coincided with Simpson’s failed attempt to start a tequila company. “I was gored by a bull five days before my honeymoon,” he says, laughing. “So my wife told me to get back to the style business.”
With a goal of creating an updated apron that utilized his denim background, Simpson eventually crafted a larger line of strong, versatile pieces for the kitchen/campfire/workshop that get better with age. And stains.
Mi Cocina’s collection includes:
Apron AP-1: A selvedge denim apron paired with sturdy leather trim and adjustable leather strap — it fits everyone from petite women to XXL guys. “I’m 6’3”, 310 pounds, and my wife is a tiny 5’1” … we needed something we both could use,” says Simpson. (The AP-2 is a slightly cheaper denim option.)
Knife Roll KR-1D: Created from 13.7-oz. denim and brown Latigo leather accents, this roll includes eight interior knife/tool pockets and an outer pocket for business/credit cards and a tablet. (The KR-1C is a similar take in canvas.)
Oven Mitt: Extra long selvedge denim mitts that offer, as one fan of Simpson put it, “an insane amount of protection … perfect for either the kitchen or a personal nuclear reactor core.” Credit the mitt’s extra Insulbrite padding in all the sensitive areas. Available in raw indigo, medium and light vintage. “I ride an 1150GS, so there’s a lot of motorcycle [design] in this,” says Simpson.
Plus, a denim pan handle holder, selvedge placemats and, interestingly enough, ridiculously soft chambray napkins.
Not everything about cooking has to be rough.
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