Chef Hats   by Jason Gluckman

Chefs wear distinct hats known as the toque blanche or, in more popular words, a chef's hat, while working in kitchens. One of the main reasons to wear a chef's hat is to stop any stray hair on the chef's head from falling into the dish being prepared at that moment. Many chefs wear a head net that covers the entire head and then put on the chef's hat on that. This locks the hair in place and provides no chance of that hair falling into one of the dishes about to be served to a customer.

Chef's hats go back a long way, as long as the early 16th century. Although popular fables exist as to how the hat exactly came into picture, it is certainly to hold the hair back while cooking. The only thing to be considered is that even the smallest restaurant needs its cooks and chefs to put on the hats while cooking to avoid any unpleasant scenes due to a strand of hair in the food served to the customer.

Chef hats come in various shapes and sizes, depending on the chef's number of years of experience, and so it is possible to have a hat as high as 12" for the head chef. Chef hats are made of either stiff cloth like cotton or a cotton mix or can be of the disposable kind like the paper and fiber mix hats. Also the cooks and the apprentices need to wear the hats while in the kitchen. As a matter of fact, it is one of the rules that all the cooks and chefs in the kitchen need to wear the hats to avoid losing points when the food inspector feels like making a surprise visit to the restaurant.

Chef hats come in one-size fits all head sizes that can fit any head size. These usually have the elastic or the Velcro fit and so can fit in almost anyone. Some restaurants that are a part of large chain of hotels or restaurants have their own logo on the hats so as to make them personalized. This lends a definite classy touch while making it obvious as to which hotel the chefs belong.

Chef hats come in different styles depending on the country where they are being made. A slight difference in the shape would give them a unique look. Popular chef hat models are the vertical pleats hats that are commonly used in most small restaurants in all over the world. Even the number of pleats on the hat symbolized the chef's experience traditionally. A head chef was supposed to wear a chef hat having a hundred pleats, although it is not always true these days.

Chef hats are available in white, black, or a mix of white and black checkers. However, the most popular are the white chef hats that are most commonly used by chefs anywhere in the world.

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Chef Hat provides detailed information on Chef Hats, Chef Hat History, Paper Chef Hats, Disposable Chef Hats and more. Chef Hat is affliated with Stainless Steel Cookware.

Black Chef Hats   by Jason Gluckman

The most popularly used chef's hats are white in color. However, the latest market shows some trendy designer hats that come in different shades such as black, gray, checkered, red, blue and others. The black and the checkered ones are catching up on sales in the market compared to the traditional white ones.

Other models would include the black with checkered borders or the white ones with black or checkered borders. Red chef hats are also in vogue in the present market. Colored hats are mostly available in the cloth variety as compared to the disposable paper kind. The colored cloth chef hats are made of cotton or cotton blend material that can be starched and stiff while being comfortable to wear at the same time.

Colored chef hats are available with adjustable elastic or Velcro headbands, and have a comfortable sweatband built into them. Polyester chef hats are being made currently to give a crisper look than the cotton ones. Also, polyester or polyester blend chef hats are easier to maintain than the traditional cotton chef hats.

Although more and more chefs are using black chef hats, the head chef is still seen to be in a white hat. All the other chefs, cooks and the others working in the kitchen are in a revolutionary change with regards to colored chef hats. Black colored chef hats are also available in different styles like the base ball variety, short hats and such, changing the trend of the chefs wearing only long pleated hats.

Most chefs prefer black colored chef hats these days as the color tends to hide all the sweat and other splattered stains on the hat. Also, since it is a polyester blend it tends to soak up sweat a lot more than the disposable ones. Since they are available in a wide range of model, a deviation from the original plated style, more and more restaurants prefer that their chefs shift to the colored hats than the traditional white.

Although a complete black hat might look way different than a traditional chef's white hat, white hats bordered or checkered with black tend to make a distinct change in the tradition. They would also not be that different in the styles and only the color could be changed for that unique touch of difference.

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Chef Hat provides detailed information on Chef Hats, Chef Hat History, Paper Chef Hats, Disposable Chef Hats and more. Chef Hat is affliated with Stainless Steel Cookware.

Disposable Chef Hats   by Jason Gluckman

Initially, chef hats were made of stiff starched cloth that was pleated as per tradition. These tended to become limp and worn as time passes due to the frequent washes they are subjected to. Also, it was a long and tiring process to ensure that the pleats were all in place and the hat is stiff enough so as not to sag on the chef's head. Starch was a necessary ingredient to keep the hat up and smart looking.

An excellent alternative to all the process of washing, starching and ironing the chef's hat came up in the recent years. This was to use paper hats instead of cloth hats. Paper hats that are fiber constructed and so are stiff and formal looking; they can be replaced every few days as the hats start to sag or become dirty due to sweat and splatters that occur every so often in the kitchens.

Also, the paper hats are cost-effective as compared to the cloth variety. Disposable varieties are the in-thing with today's chefs. They are easy to use and zero maintenance, and the chef gets to wear a new one every few days. Manufacturers are making sure the paper hats are delivered in proper packages at a nominal cost and keeping up with the present trend regarding the sizes and the shapes. Even the pleats are being provided in the hats and since it is of paper, the pleats hardly tend to get crushed or wrinkled.

All the disposable varieties are provided with sweatbands to ensure longer wear. Most of these paper chef hats are worn with a hairnet underneath that keeps the hair locked in place thus serving the original purpose of wearing a hat while cooking.

Available in the market are the French, Spanish, Italian, German and European, as well as other kids of chef hats made with non-woven material, in other words with a thick durable paper. They are robust and are long wearing. Since a sweatband would be provided they do not tear due to sweat or heat and can be used for many shifts. Some hats can be worn for as many as 5 days as a stretch.

Disposable ones can also be made on order with the hotel's logo. Personalized hats for gatherings and barbecues make excellent giveaway gifts. A company's logo would also add a personal touch if the hotel or restaurant is a popular chain. It would also act as an excellent advertising gimmick and can be as effective as a t-shirt or such.

Disposable hats are available in the requisite sizes and heights and can be ordered online with the minimum hassles. They would be delivered at the earliest and would not involve in the customer spending a lot of time shopping around for the perfect chef's hat.

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Chef Hat provides detailed information on Chef Hats, Chef Hat History, Paper Chef Hats, Disposable Chef Hats and more. Chef Hat is affliated with Stainless Steel Cookware.

Chef Hat History   by Jason Gluckman

Chef hats have a history that can be traced as far as the beginning of the centuries. Although the real origin is not really known, it does go back a long way. It is a popular belief that the chefs in the courts of Iran and the nearby nations wore the chef hats even in the B.C. times, although for reasons that might be different from now. However, the shape and sizes must have considerably undergone some drastic changes since then. Even with all the noticeable changes, the chef hat is still being worn by all the chefs and cooks worldwide to avoid stray hair from falling into the dish being prepared allowing contamination of the dish.

Tradition indicates that the number of pleats on the headdress indicates the experience of the chef. Of course, this means the head chef, who is the one with the maximum experience gets to wear a hat with a hundred pleats. Although a hundred pleats are not found on a head chef's hat these days, these hats do contain the most number of pleats still. The number of pleats also indicates the number of ways the chef can prepare a dish as so any head chef worthy of the title must be allowed to wear a head chef hat in honor of the knowledge possessed.

A chef's hat worn these days is mostly a covering for the head than to depict any other symbolism. They also come in different sizes, heights and shapes depending on who would be wearing them. All the cooks, chefs, and others involved in the kitchen work are supposed to wear them without fail - taking hygiene into account more than anything else.

History indicates toque to have been worn by both men and women as a head covering while cooking. French, Italian, Spanish, German and other countries adopted a unique style by the early 16th century. Although the basic usage remained the same, to cover the head to avoid any stray hairs from falling into the dish being prepared, unique styles had come into vogue and were very distinguishable from one another. They were also named different in different languages, although they are all popular currently as the chef's hats.

Starched cloth and wool chef hats came into picture in the early 17th century in many countries. These are still popular as along with keeping the hair in place, they also absorb the heat and sweat caused due to the heat in the kitchens. Early 19th century saw a revolution in the chef's hats. Chefs dealing with various food preparations ended up putting on different caps to be distinguished in their areas of specializations.

Even with all the advancements in the history of chef hats, they still distinguish the chefs and the cooks even when they are currently made from paper and fiber instead of cloth. Cooks and chefs all over the world wear these hats regardless of the history and the tradition, which resulted in evolution of the chef hats.

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Chef Hat provides detailed information on Chef Hats, Chef Hat History, Paper Chef Hats, Disposable Chef Hats and more. Chef Hat is affliated with Stainless Steel Cookware.

Jackets and Toques The History and Evolution of the Way We Dress
(This article was originally published in the National Culinary Review)

Chefs, for the most part, wear their uniforms almost every day of their working lives, replete with toque, checked pants and double-breasted jacket. Though these uniforms are ubiquitous in the foodservice industry worldwide, they are often taken for granted and worn without much thought. However, many may find that the origin and reasons behind traditional chef's attire are as interesting as it looks.

Much of the chef's uniform has developed out of necessity. The jacket, for example, is double-breasted so it can easily be reversed to hide stains that may accumulate throughout the day; the double layer of cotton is also designed to insulate our bodies against the intense heat of the stove or an accidental splattering of hot liquid. Even the knotted cloth buttons were fashioned for a reason-cloth will withstand the frequent washings and abuse buttons often take from contact with pots, pans and other heavy equipment. Though executive chefs often wear black pants, working chefs and cooks usually don pants with black-and-white checks-the dizzying pattern of hound's tooth camouflages minor spills and soilings. Today neckerchiefs are primarily worn for aesthetic purposes, to give our uniforms a more finished look, but originally cotton cloths were draped around ones neck to soak body sweat while working in the inferno-like kitchens of yesteryear.

The traditional chef's hat, or toque blanche, is what is most distinguishing and recognizable of the uniform, and also the component which often causes the most debate. Chefs as far back as the 16th century are said to have worn toques. During that period artisans of all types (including chefs) were often imprisoned, or even executed, because of their freethinking. To alleviate persecution, some chefs sought refuge in the Orthodox Church and hid amongst the priests of the monasteries. There they wore the same clothes as the priests-including their tall hats and long robes-with the exception of one deviating trait: the chef's clothes were gray and the priest's were black.

It wasn't until the middle 1800's that chef Marie-Antoine Carême redesigned the uniforms. Carême thought the color white more appropriate, that it denoted cleanliness in the kitchen; it was also at this time that he and his staff began to wear double-breasted jackets. Carême also thought that the hats should be different sizes, to distinguish the cooks from the chefs. The chefs wore the tall hats and the younger cooks wore shorter hats, more like a cap. Carême himself supposedly wore a hat that was 18 inches tall! The folded pleats of a toque, which later became an established characteristic of the chef's hat, were first said to have been added to indicate the more than 100 ways in which a chef can cook an egg.

The cleanliness of the cook's uniform was very important, and that it promoted professionalism. His staff was required to maintain clean and complete uniforms while on the job, and were also encouraged to wear coats and ties while not at work. To this day cooks and chefs around the world wear the same attire that has traceable origins back to more than 400 years. Along with the other conveniences the 1950's brought, paper toques were invented to look like cloth but could be disposed of once they were soiled.

The traditional chef's uniform may be the standard for our profession, but it's definitely not the law. Since the mid-1980's a legion of chefs and cooks have begun to wear non-traditional "fun" chef's attire. These nouveau uniforms run the gamut from pinstriped baggy pants and denim jackets to full blown wildly patterned outfits with chili peppers, flowers, and even the CIA logo. While some chefs may nay-say these new-style uniforms as non-professional, others retaliate that they are more comfortable and give chefs an opportunity to express their individuality through their clothes as well as their food.

Actually, the non-traditional uniforms of today may remind some of the late chef-philanthropist Alexis Soyer, author, inventor and one time chef of the Reform Club in London. Chef Soyer was known to have his entire wardrobe-including his work attire-tailor made. Some of his headgear was as eccentric as a red velvet beret; his jackets were often cut on the bias with large lapels and cuffs. He called his individualistic style "à la zoug-zoug," and the more his contemporaries ridiculed him the more outlandish his outfits became. Like the old adage says, "What's old is new again."

As a professional chef myself, I prefer to adhere to traditional chef's attire-the uniform and its history are something to be proud of. On the other hand, I can also understand a chef's desire to want to be expressive. As the twentieth century comes to a close, these nouveau style uniforms have their place in certain establishments; restaurants today, after all, are considered a form of theater. As with anything, the chef's uniform continues to evolve, who knows what the future has to hold? One thing is certain though, the image of a chef, in a pristine white jacket and toque, is recognized the world over as a professional, and we have our predecessors to thank for this.