When thinking of a chef, what is the first thing you think of? What distinguishes someone as a chef? Is it their distinct white buttoned coat or checkered pants? No doubt the defining characteristic that first pops into anyone’s head is a tall, white hat. This chef’s hat has a name, the toque blanche, and has a long, varied history to match!
The word toque has been used for thousands of years to describe a brimless hat, with blanche being the French word for white, so toque blanche literally translates to “white hat”. Chef’s hats come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from a tall band with a floppy crown, to a straight column with up to 100 pleats to help keep it upright. While traditionally they were made of starched cotton fabric oftentimes now you will see disposable versions of them made of paper. The paper hats help to keep the chef’s head cool in a hot and steamy kitchen, and are much less maintenance than frequently washing and starching a cotton hat. One thing that is standard is the head chef’s hat must be white, as a symbol of cleanliness and good hygiene in the kitchen! It’s been rumored that the 100 pleats in a chef’s hat symbolized the number of recipes the chef has mastered, such as 100 ways to cook eggs. However, there’s no hard evidence to prove this.
One of the many rumored origins of the chef’s hat comes from about 146 BCE! The Byzantine empire invaded Greece and many Greek chefs fled to nearby monasteries to hide. The chefs adopted the monk’s tall stovepipe hats to blend in and chose to continue wearing them even after the invaders were driven out as a sign of solidarity. Another urban legend of the hat’s origin dates back to Henry VIII of England. The story says that the king’s head chef lost his head after a disgusted Henry found a hair in his food. The monarch then ordered all chefs to wear hats going forward. Regardless of how true it is, this is generally why head coverings of any style are worn in the kitchen. It’s reassuring to know cleanliness in food prep has been a concern for millenia!
The chef’s hat gains its signature white color thanks to Marie-Antoine Carême, “the King of chefs, and chef of Kings”, who codified French haute cuisine. Carême initially started as a pastry chef, whose uniform typically includes a white jacket to protect their clothing from flour (as well as a sign of cleanliness), and a short, white cap. When Carême transitioned to cooking banquets for such political figures of the 19th century as Napoleon, Czar Alexander I of Russia, and the Rothschilds he continued to wear his white jacket and hat as a sign of his roots. At the time, chefs used to wear berets or loose stocking caps, similar to the kind that were worn to bed at the time, but Carême believed that these caps made chefs look tired and sick and said chefs’ hats should "announce the man in good health". Carême also believed the chef’s hat was an easy identifier of rank. Previously chefs wore hats of different colors to denote rank, but in Carême’s kitchen everyone wore hats of different heights, with his as the Head Chef the tallest at about 18” (hence the cardboard inside). This is a tradition that carries on to this day, though anyone wearing a hat as tall as 18” is highly unlikely these days. The height of the hat has an added advantage of allowing better air circulation and helping to keep the head cooler than a short cap.
While the use of the Toque Blanche fell out of fashion with Marie-Antoine Carême’s passing, the tradition was spread throughout Europe by another well known chef, Auguste Escoffier. Escoffier was another French chef who followed Carême’s teachings while modernizing French cuisine. His military experience even led Escoffier to codifying the chef’s uniforms and kitchen structure that is still used today. He believed the kitchen should act as a brigade, with cooks being assigned specific roles and locations in the kitchen while a supervisor acts as their general. These supervisors ensure every station in the kitchen works together as a cohesive group.
While modern chefs wear a variety of uniforms and hats, from bandanas and head wraps to short toques and mesh caps, the tall toque blanche still stands above the rest as a symbol of respect and seniority in high end kitchens worldwide!
