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s p i l l e d b e a n s | t he culinary institute of america

The Chef’s Uniform

note: “The chef is a reflection of his kitchen. A grubby nally referred to a head covering worn by both men and
chef is a grubby kitchen.” At The Culinary Institute of women. Eventually, the toque took the shape of a small,
America we take this observation by Paul Bocuse to heart. round, close-fitting band or “crown” of cloth with a gather-
Like most culinary schools, the Institute has a dress code ing of material that was often pleated to cover the top of the

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that requires a proper uniform, but contemporary society’s head. By the end of the sixteenth century, the characteristics
emphasis on individuality and nonconformity makes this of the hat varied from country to country. The French wore
policy alien to some students. In order to encourage our a flattened beret style, while the Italians favored a hat with
students to wear the uniform proudly, we put together this pleats. Germans preferred a gathered hat that was softer in
brief history of chef’s wear. appearance. Early woodcuts show male cooks wearing a
variety of different hats, including floppy berets, skullcaps,
tall toques gathered into knots, and stocking caps resem-
The Chef’s Toque
bling pointed nightcaps.
The tall white hat, or toque, symbolizes the art of fine cook- During the eighteenth century, Spanish cooks wore berets
ing throughout much of the world. Some sources say that of white wool or ticking, Germans wore pointed hats with a
the toque originated in Assyria in the mid-seventh-century decorative tassel, and the British wore starched Scotch caps
b.c., when King Assurbanipal lived in fear of being poisoned. and black skull caps often referred to as “librarian caps.”
He required the head cooks in wealthy households to wear Eighteenth-century French cooks wore the casque à mèche, or
pleated cloth headdresses similar to those worn by the roy-
alty. This headgear served both to identify the cooks of a
particular household and to encourage allegiance. A second He who wears the toque
legend traces the toque back to antiquity, when rulers pre-
negligently and simply atop
sented master culinarians with bonnet-like caps studded
with laurel leaves, emblems of the ruler’s office, in a cere-
his head is either a reckless
mony that marked the beginning of all official feasts.

F E B R UARY 2001
Yet another tale situates the origin of the toque at the individual or a philosopher.
end of the sixth century a.d., when barbarians from northern
Europe overran the Byzantine Empire. To escape persecu-
tion, philosophers and artists fled to Greek monasteries for stocking cap, whose colors depended upon the cook’s rank. In
refuge, where they found themselves in the company of addition to stocking caps, French cooks, especially pastry
Orthodox priests who enjoyed good food. This legend tells cooks, wore a band of linen or ticking with a central mound 89
that many of the refugees became cooks in the monastery of the same fabric pleated on the edge. Under the reign of
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kitchens, adopting the cassock and headgear of the priests to King Louis-Philippe (1747–1793), the cap was full, heavily
disguise themselves. However, they chose to wear white starched, and held in the middle with a circular whalebone,
instead of the traditional black, as a mark of individuality. producing the effect of a halo. Under Napoleon iii (1808–1833)
Of course, none of these accounts can be verified, and the Greek bonnet ornamented with a tassel was in vogue.
most likely the chef’s toque evolved over time, with no sin- Interestingly, the color of the hat chosen almost two hundred
gle country or culture entirely responsible for its creation. years ago is still favored today. M. Boucher, chef to the
The French word toque, by way of the Spanish toca, origi- French statesman and gastronome Talleyrand (1754–1838), is
believed to have re-introduced white as the standard color.
We must credit the famous chef Antonin Carême
Left: This 1840 print shows the “Greek Bonnet” style hat worn
by French chefs of the period. (1784–1833) with bringing the modern toque into the kitchen.
© bettmann/corbis
 He is said to have been inspired to change his floppy, beret- giving the chef a neat and professional appearance that
style cap when he saw a woman wearing a stiff, white hat would be lost through rolled-up sleeves; at the same time it
on the street one day. Carême returned to his kitchen and ensures protection to the forearms and wrists in the event
slipped a round piece of cardboard into his own cap to give of a splatter or spill. The double-breasted design offers a
it a smarter appearance. His employer, Lord Stewart, liked quick fix for hiding soiled areas, since the panels can easily
this new cap and called it a “toque.” Both the new style be reversed to regain a crisp, white, professional appear-
and the name were soon adopted by the whole brigade de ance. Finally, in today’s more egalitarian kitchen, the unisex
cuisiniers in Vienna where Carême then worked, and subse- style allows men and women to button their jackets on the
quently in Paris and London. left or the right, according to personal preference.
Although the size, color, height, and style of the chef’s Today’s chef’s coat comes in many styles, and even the
hat varied, it soon became a significant part of the chef’s buttons can vary. In some kitchens, chefs have black or cloth
uniform and ultimately came to define the profession. The buttons, a patch with the name of the establishment, and

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hat also served as a mark of style, as Alfred Suzanne noted their name embroidered above the pocket. Colored ribbons
in his 1894 book, La Cuisine Anglaise: on the collar and pocket often designate something of spe-
cial significance. For instance, the Institute’s chef-instructors
Generally one can judge the character of a chef by the way he wears wear green and gold ribbons, our school colors. Certified
his hat. For example, he who likes to wear the toque lightly ballooned Master Chefs often wear black and gold ribbons to symbol-
out and tilted back, as in a breeze, is almost always an authoritarian ize their high standing in the profession.
man, violent, and carried away. He who wears it pluckily, inclined on
the corner of an ear in a showy fashion, is a bit of a snob. This is the
The Chef’s Pants and Apron
worst phony of the range crew. Another type, who wears it negligently
and simply atop his head, is either a reckless individual or a philosopher. The history of the chef’s checkered pants is the most difficult
It is notable that the toque, placed forward and pulled down over the to document. Most sources assume that this fabric was cho-
eyes, protects the head of a thinker. sen to camouflage spills. While bakers wore white, chefs
turned to either regular black-and-white checks or a hound-
Pleated toques are usually about eight inches high, but stooth pattern, with the exact color and pattern varying from
chefs in a position of authority can wear hats ten to twelve place to place. Some believe that the houndstooth check
inches in height. It is said that the chef’s toque blanche has originated in the costume of the English master huntsman.
one hundred pleats to represent the one hundred ways to Designed with built-in safety features, chef’s pants some-
cook an egg. The pleated white hat remains customary to this times have snaps instead of a zipper so that they can literally
day and represents a long tradition in the cooking profession. be torn away to prevent bodily burns in the event of an acci-
dental spill. The pants legs are straight, not cuffed or rolled,
F E B R UARY 2001

so that hot liquids cannot be trapped at the ankle.

The Chef’s Coat
The very first chef’s uniform was no more than an apron
Almost as distinguishing as the toque blanche is the veste worn to protect clothing from the inevitable splashes and
blanche, or double-breasted white jacket. Its military style is spills. The messier the work, the longer the apron. Butchers
no accident of fashion. The earliest chefs were servants of wore long aprons; skilled artisans and craftsmen wore theirs
90 kings and could very possibly have been called upon to shorter. It is by choice, then, that at the Institute we wear
serve on the battlefield as well as in the dining hall. the short apron of the artist.
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Much less has been written about the chef’s coat than
about the toque. Most references suggest that white was
The Neckerchief
chosen to emphasize good sanitation. Jackets ranged from
long-sleeved coats fashioned after papal dress to costumes The finishing touch for the jacket is the neckerchief, which
derived from rural dress, which included a jacket covered can be worn in various ways. Some chefs wear it shawl-style
by a long apron and worn with a knotted kerchief around around their neck; at the Institute, we wear it neatly tucked
the neck. inside the collar. This accessory is similar in shape to a ban-
The jacket protected the chef from the kitchen heat, as danna and is typically solid white in color. In the past, the
it still does today. The coat has other advantages, as well. neckerchief served to catch trapped perspiration as the chef
A split at the cuff seam allows the cuffs to be turned back, labored over cooking fires. In the modern kitchen, the neck-
 erchief may also provide some protection for the voice box
of the chef who travels between the extreme temperatures of
a walk-in blast freezer and the flames of a wood-fired grill.
Some restaurants use the neckerchief as a signature.
Large resorts may have different colors for their different
restaurants. At the Institute, chef-instructors and degree-
program students wear white neckerchiefs, while Service
Club members tie royal blue around their necks.g

sources
Aresty, Esther B. The Exquisite Table. Indianapolis and New York: The Bobbs-
Merrill Company, Inc., 1980.

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Stewart, Katie, with Pamela and Maurice Michael. The Joy of Eating. Owings
Mills, md: Stemmer House Publishers, Inc., 1977.

A Diderot Pictorial Encyclopedia of Trades and Industry. Ed. Charles Coulston

Gillispie. New York: Dover, 1959.

Herbodeau, Eugene, and Paul Thalamas. Georges Auguste Escoffier. London:

Practical Press Ltd., 1955.

Williams-Mitchell, Christobel. Dressed for the Job: The Story of Occupational

Costume. Poole, Dorset: Blandford Books, 1982.

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The chef in this 1878 lithograph by Jules Després is wearing a

“modern” chef’s coat, shawl-like neckerchief, and soft hat.
© bettmann/corbis