Friday, February 5, 2010

Chef's Hat Facts

A few days ago I saw a random internet search for "why are chef's hat's floppy?" This was one of those things that I would have questioned if I would have been smart enough to think of it. To me, chef's hats have just always been that way. So I went on a search to find what I hoped would be a rich history. Instead I ended up at wikipedia with two sentences saying that the hats originated in the 16th century.

Depending on your job in the kitchen you have a different height of hat. Apparently there are 100 folds in it as symbolism for all the ways a chef can make an egg. I was hoping for more information than that, I really wanted to know exactly why they are floppy. Maybe I'll have to ask a seamstress. It probably has something to do with the tucks.

1 comment:

Ljw said...

These are a couple of resources I found on the net about it. Not sure if they're accurate, but it's an interesting read anyway.

http://www.cheftalk.com/cooking_articles/Food_History/45-Jackets_and_Toques_The_History_of_the_Chef_Uniform.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?chef-hat-history&id=123667