Chef Hats For The Masses

Filed in archive Around The Kitchen on September 30, 2005

Sometimes when no one's looking I put on a chef's toque so I can pretend I'm Julia Child while doing mundane things in the kitchen like shredding cheese or deboning a chicken.

Okay, not really. But I've thought about it.

Culinary Classics is a nifty little website that sells all sorts of chef's clothing, from coats and clogs to neckwear and hats. While looking at the different selections, I got to wondering about the significance of chef's hats and why there are are so many different kinds. It turns out the traditional touqe (there are different theories about this) is most likely a decendant of the headgear worn by ancient European chefs. They protected their heads by fashioning cloth cylinders from old sheets. Then they stuffed them with rags to help retain their shape and absorb condensation falling from the ceilings of the unventilated kitchens. Furthermore, the height of the hat signified your rank in the kitchen with the head chef wearing the tallest one (a tradition still seen today in many kitchens).

These days nearly all local health laws require some sort of head covering in public kitchens and baseball caps seem to be gaining popularity for their contemporary style as well as convenience.

Me? I'll take the tallest toque I can find.