Why Do Chefs Wear Tall White Hats?
According to a July 22, 2009 Boston Globe article, the classic tall, white chef's hat, or toque, may have originated in mid-seventh century B.C. Assyria, where royal household cooks "wore pleated cloth headdresses like the king."
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History
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Other sources cited by the Boston Globe say the chef's hat dates to the Byzantine Empire, when Greek monastery cooks wore hats similar to those of Orthodox priests. In the 19th century, Antonin Careme is credited with inserting stiff cardboard into chef's hats.
Types
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Toque styles have varied from country to country. British chefs traditionally wore a Scotch cap, according to a Jan. 29, 1996 article in the Nation's Restaurant News. Spaniards wore a white wool beret and Germans a tasseled Napoleonic hat. The familiar tall, white toque was a French creation.
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Function
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Today, the chef's toque is more of a showy relic. Ill-fitting paper hats don't absorb sweat, and they can fall off and catch fire, according to an Aug. 13, 2003 Los Angeles Times article.
Size
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Eve Felder of the Culinary Institute of America claims that, in French kitchens, a toque's height increased with a chef's rank.
Potential
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According to the Los Angeles Times, up-and-coming chefs are slipping off traditional headgear for hip alternatives ranging from baseball caps and skull caps to Mohawk haircuts.
Fun Fact
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The white chef's hat is nicknamed "egghead," according to the Nation's Restaurant News. Chef's toques should have 100 pleats to represent 100 ways a good cook can prepare an egg.
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References
- Boston Globe newspaper; Standing out in the kitchen: Top chefs' headgear dates back many centuries; Bridget Samburg; July 22, 2009
- Los Angeles Times newspaper; Chefs shed their whites and start a revolution; Whether seeking star status or just personal expression, many are abandoning the venerable uniform for Euro-fashion or punk style; Valli Herman-cohen; Aug 13, 2003
- Nation's Restaurant News; Evolution of the chef's toque, from Greek church to baseball caps; Suzanne Kapner, Richard Martin; Jan. 29, 1996
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Comments
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I thought it was 111. I guess I'm wrong. look at fun facts". Chef's toques should have 100 pleats to represent 100 ways a good cook can prepare an egg. Chefs Tall White Hats.
