FYI: what's the story behind the gravity-defying white hats worn by chefs?

FYI: what's the story behind the gravity-defying white hats worn by chefs?

Toque blanche is the name given to the tall, starched, white, pleated hat that has been worn in its current form by chefs for almost two centuries. Toque was the name given to a type of hat popular in 13th century Europe, especially France, the home of haute cuisine, while blanche, which is usually dropped, is 'white' in French.

There are many legends surrounding the evolution of the toque. One is that head cooks in ancient Assyria were honoured by being allowed to wear high headdresses patterned on the crowns of their monarchs. This was to encourage them to remain faithful to their masters, who lived in constant fear of being poisoned. Pleats, stitched into the cloth of the headdress, mimicked the ribs in the king's crown and were stiffened with starch.

Another version of events ascribes the design of the toque to the headdress of Greek Orthodox priests. As the Byzantine Empire began to come under attack at the end of the sixth century, intellectuals ('epicurean' derives from the name of Greek philosopher Epicurus) and artists, many of whom were culinarily competent, sought sanctuary in monasteries from marauding barbarians. Cooking to make themselves useful, these refugees adopted the habits and headgear of their hosts as a disguise - but in white instead of the traditional black.

A chef's hat often has one hundred pleats - said, according to another legend of obscure origin, to represent the one hundred ways a good chef should be able to cook eggs, although today's kings of the kitchen are unlikely to be tested on that particular proficiency.

Sieving fact from fiction at this remove is impossible. Some believe today's toque is simply a result of the gradual evolution of head coverings worn by cooks through the centuries. Illustrations in cookbooks of the latter years of the 16th century show cooks across Europe wearing a variety of headgear, including floppy berets, tall toques gathered into knots and skull caps.