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Chef
Hat History
By
Jason Gluckman
Chef hats have a history that can be traced as far as the beginning
of the centuries. Although the real origin is not really known, it does
go back a long way. It is a popular belief that the chefs in the courts
of Iran and the nearby nations wore the chef hats even in the B.C. times,
although for reasons that might be different from now. However, the
shape and sizes must have considerably undergone some drastic changes
since then. Even with all the noticeable changes, the chef hat is still
being worn by all the chefs and cooks worldwide to avoid stray hair
from falling into the dish being prepared allowing contamination of
the dish.
Tradition indicates that the number of pleats on the headdress indicates
the experience of the chef. Of course, this means the head chef, who
is the one with the maximum experience gets to wear a hat with a hundred
pleats. Although a hundred pleats are not found on a head chef’s
hat these days, these hats do contain the most number of pleats still.
The number of pleats also indicates the number of ways the chef can
prepare a dish as so any head chef worthy of the title must be allowed
to wear a head chef hat in honor of the knowledge possessed.
A chef’s hat worn these days is mostly a covering for the head
than to depict any other symbolism. They also come in different sizes,
heights and shapes depending on who would be wearing them. All the cooks,
chefs, and others involved in the kitchen work are supposed to wear
them without fail - taking hygiene into account more than anything else.
History indicates toque to have been worn by both men and women as a
head covering while cooking. French, Italian, Spanish, German and other
countries adopted a unique style by the early 16th century. Although
the basic usage remained the same, to cover the head to avoid any stray
hairs from falling into the dish being prepared, unique styles had come
into vogue and were very distinguishable from one another. They were
also named different in different languages, although they are all popular
currently as the chef’s hats.
Starched cloth and wool chef hats came into picture in the early 17th
century in many countries. These are still popular as along with keeping
the hair in place, they also absorb the heat and sweat caused due to
the heat in the kitchens. Early 19th century saw a revolution in the
chef’s hats. Chefs dealing with various food preparations ended
up putting on different caps to be distinguished in their areas of specializations.
Even with all the advancements in the history of chef hats, they still
distinguish the chefs and the cooks even when they are currently made
from paper and fiber instead of cloth. Cooks and chefs all over the
world wear these hats regardless of the history and the tradition, which
resulted in evolution of the chef hats.
Chef Hats provides detailed information about chef hats, chef hat history,
and more. Chef Hats is affiliated with Sirloin Steak.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jason_Gluckman |
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