What's Up With Chef Hats?

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If you picked the word "chef" in Pictionary, you'd probably draw one of those tall white hats. We all know them, but do we really know what the heck is up with those weird hats? All your answers are down below.

Why do chefs wear those hats? Contrary to what may seem obvious, they didn't come from the need to keep hair out of food. CRACKED COM

A chef's hat is called a toque. It's derived from the Arabic word for hat. Really creative. Or you can call it a toque blanche (white hat) if you

By the 1800s, toques were white. White was supposedly chosen to display pristine hygiene.

One toque origin story... In the sixth century, the Byzantine Empire invaded Constantinople and chefs fled to Greek Orthodox monasteries. To fit in, t
Source: EHL

The number of pleats used to represent the number of recipes mastered. In the 1800s, if you had 100 pleats, it meant you mastered 100 dishes. Now, it'

Similar to pleats, the height of the hat used to signify your experience. The chef Marie Antoine Careme once wore an eighteen inch hat, which required

Nowadays, chefs are more likely to wear a hairnet than a toque. But some kitchens still follow the time-honored tradition of the toque, and it normall
Source: Escoffier
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