Hat Chefs
March 19, 2011
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Posted by adminHat Chefs
What are the white hats chefs wear called and what is their origin?
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.
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.
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.
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.
Why the Chefs Jacket? The history of Chef Jackets
Generally Chefs wear their uniforms everyday they are in the kitchen, including toque, checked pants and either single breasted or double-breasted chef jackets. Chef's uniforms and the Chefs jacket is widely adopted across the globe. Have you ever questioned the origin of this world recognised uniform?
Parts of the chef's uniform have been born out of necessity. The chefs jacket for example, is usually double-breasted so it can be easily reversed to hide splashes and stains that may have occurred whilst cooking; the double layered cotton is also designed to protect and insulate the wearers body against hot liquid/food splash back and the heat of the kitchen environment.
Even the knotted cloth buttons found on a Chefs jacket are fashioned with a purpose. This is because the knotted cloth will withstand the frequent cleaning and abuse buttons often take from contact with pots, pans and other heavy kitchen equipment. Though executive chefs often wear black pants, working chefs and cooks usually wear pants with black-and-white checks-the dizzying pattern can help camouflage minor spills and soiling.
During the mid 1800's a chef ‘Marie-Antoine Carême' redesigned the chef's uniforms. Carême believed the colour white was more appropriate as it represented hygiene and cleanliness in the kitchen; it was also at this time that the double-breasted Chef jackets were introduced. 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!
Other followed suit and Chef Escoffier thought the cleanliness of the cook's uniform was very important, and that it promoted professionalism. His staff were required to maintain clean and complete uniforms whilst in the kitchen. 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.
Modern day, Chefs require the comfort and quality of cloth over paper. This will often require a chef to own many chefs jackets and uniforms so that one set can be worn whilst the others are being washed. A full range of uniforms are now available with a chef jackets of all colours / sizes and stitching. Many chefs however prefer to adhere to traditional chef's uniform as its history is something to be proud of.
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