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Chef Hats - Now I know

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BurntRaw
BurntRaw Posts: 565
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Always wondered why they are like they are.[p]From the Wisegeek website:[p]A chef hat, also sometimes referred to as a toque-blanche, is part of a chef's uniform. The brimless chef hat covers the entire head of hair to eliminate any stray hair from falling into the dishes being prepared. Traditionally, a chef hat is quite tall, from 9 to 12" (228-305mm), which has vertical pleats that run around the body of the hat. Made of either stiffly starched fabric, mostly cotton and cotton blends, or of paper, the chef hat can come in either white or black.[p]Several versions of the origin of the chef hat prevail. One story goes that the chef for King Henry VIII was going bald and was beheaded after the king found a hair in his soup. Henceforth, all royals chefs were required to wear a chef hat.[p]Another tale states the chef hat came about during the time of the ancient Assyrians. Because a common method of the day for overthrowing an unpopular monarch was to poison him, only the most loyal and trusted men were allowed to become court chefs. As acknowledgement of their lofty position, chefs were allowed to wear a crown of sorts. Fashioned after the style of crown the king wore, the ribs on the side of the king's crown were depicted by pleats on the crowns of the chefs.[p]Traditional versions of the chef hat always include one hundred pleats. In keeping with the Assyrian hat theory, it is said that the reason a chef hat had one hundred pleats is because a master chef knew how to prepare eggs one hundred different ways. In that time and part of the world, eggs were considered to be symbol for the universe, and as such were highly regarded.[p]In today's world, not all chef hats have one hundred pleats. A chef hat can come in many styles from baseball caps to poufy pizza maker types, but chefs continue to wear some form of chef hat for hygienic reasons.[p]
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  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
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    BurntRaw,
    Just about every part of a Chef's uniform has a function, most of them to do with safety reasons. The double fronted coats are for safety from the burners, pans, ovens etc. and can be flipped to put the dirty part inside if you get splatted.[p]When I graduated from Culinary School and became a Chef my Toque had 100 pleats, 1 for each of the ways I had to prepare EGGs during exam week in order to graduate. It kind of felt like Forrest Gump's friend Bubba with the shrimp.[p]That toque is why many Chefs get a little bent when they see folks wearing a toque (not the floppy apprentice caps) when they haven't earned them.[p]Good info you provided.
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  • Celtic Wolf
    Celtic Wolf Posts: 9,773
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    Bobby-Q,[p] I guess I need to stop wearing my red one then :([p]me.jpg[p]
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  • BurntRaw
    BurntRaw Posts: 565
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    Celtic Wolf,[p]No problem with yours as it is the floppy apprentice type!
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  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
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    Celtic Wolf,
    Not at all, the floppy ones are for apprentices, pastry guys, and a bunch of other functions, mostly fashion related.[p]When you wear yours it is a fashion statement. You're not parading around in Chef whites wearing a toque and pretending to be something you are not.
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  • Chef Arnoldi
    Chef Arnoldi Posts: 974
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    Bobby-Q, i am very impressed to hear that you went to culinary school, no wonder you enjoy cooking so much. Which school did you study at ?
    i went to AIU part time

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  • BurntRaw
    BurntRaw Posts: 565
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    Bobby-Q,[p]Not only that, it looks pretty cool![p]So you actually had to do the eggs 100 ways? Wow, the tradition lives on.[p]Scrambled or over easy; that's it I'm done.
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  • mad max beyond eggdome
    mad max beyond eggdome Posts: 8,134
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    BurntRaw,
    IMG_0958.jpg
    mine is the first that i know of from the famous "chicken ranch school of culunary art and magic" in beautiful Spring Texas. .even came with the first ever "Certificate of Visitation" signed by the spring chicken himself. ...of course, it only has about 6 pleats, but what the heck, it has been blessed by leroy and judy!![p]mad "sometimes it pays to be first" max
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  • Chef Arnoldi
    Chef Arnoldi Posts: 974
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    mad max beyond eggdome, you look real distinguished - you qualify !!
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  • Spring Chicken
    Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
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    Celtic Wolf,
    And all this time I thought you were in the bad-ass Red Berets Legion. Now I learn that you are a master at cooking, not killing... LOL[p]Spring "Captain In The Pink Berets" Chicken
    Spring Texas USA
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  • Spring Chicken
    Spring Chicken Posts: 10,255
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    mad max beyond eggdome,
    You never looked gooder, Sir Max.[p]Spring "We Did Good" Chicken
    Spring Texas USA
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  • ronbeaux
    ronbeaux Posts: 988
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    Bobby-Q,
    Kinda like strapping on a black belt when your not. Question though, do Chefs prefer to wear their hats all the way up to the point where they are tattered? It's a sign of experience for the black belts and the more worn they are the more respect everybody gives them. Just wondering cause I never see a worn Chef hat. Maybe because of TV??
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  • guava greg
    guava greg Posts: 139
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    BurntRaw,[p]french for big puffy hat anyway or something like that.[p]greg
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  • tach18k
    tach18k Posts: 1,607
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    Bobby-Q,

    [ul][li]Toque[/ul]
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    tach18k, Thank you for the site for Togue's. For sure I would be the Gray Cup Octopus Togue. That is a statement of not being a chef. Maybe Bobby should pass those along to those wearing one when they should not.Had no idea about the pleats and other things stated. My hat is off to Bobby-Q for sure!! Scrambled, hard boiled, fried easy, fried well(burned), deviled, omelete, poached and coddled...mm..I have a long way to go! Seriously, the work involved to be a chef is so hard. Congrats to all true chefs!

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  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
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    chefarnoldi,
    I grqaduated from the School of Culinary Arts here in Atlanta. I think I remember you from one of the weekend classes I used to teach. A lot of us did that as an elective, we taught the intro culinary classes to the "weekend warriors" as we used to call them. The classes were a lot of fun and gave the folks a glimpse of what it's like to work in a commercial environment.
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  • Bobby-Q
    Bobby-Q Posts: 1,994
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    ronbeaux,
    Most times working chefs are wearing paper hats which get pretty worn out after 12 to 14 hours in the kitchen. It's more a tradition to rip it off your head and slam it into the trash can right before you hit the door to go home.[p]My starched cloth Toque from graduation is in a case, I think, err hope, it is at my Mom's house.
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  • Charles in SC
    Charles in SC Posts: 142
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    Bobby-Q,
    I have a couple of them but do not feel the need to wear them, I am more in to the gimme type hats but I have quite often wondered how a person desides if he is a chef or not.
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  • J Appledog
    J Appledog Posts: 1,046
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    Ann..Magnolia Blossom, Let's not forget about these! JCA

    [ul][li]Hats of meat[/ul]
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  • Unknown
    Unknown
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    J Appledog,..ok..I never thought I would finally say this..."but I think I have seen it all now"...too funny..thank you!

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  • Chef Arnoldi
    Chef Arnoldi Posts: 974
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    Bobby-Q, my favorite cec is chef Costa - do you remember him ?

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  • guava greg
    guava greg Posts: 139
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    mad max beyond eggdome,[p]Good way to keep all your dreadlocks out of the way! heee![p]Greg
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  • ronbeaux
    ronbeaux Posts: 988
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    Bobby-Q,
    If I had one that is where it would be!! Congrats and mucho respect!!
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