Chef hat
The chef's hat is used for hygienic reasons, but not mandatory, workwear in restaurant operations . Disposable chef's hats made of paper are much more common than reusable ones made of fabric. Alternatively, bonnets and the short version of the chef's hat, known as the " boat ", are worn.
The French Marie-Antoine Carême (1784–1833), who cooked for the participants in the Congress of Vienna , is considered the inventor of the stiff chef's hat when he first mounted a stiff paper ring inside the chef's hat .
The Gault-Millau restaurant guide distinguishes particularly good restaurants with so-called “toques”, which are symbolically awarded chef's hats.
heraldry
The toque, as the chef's hat is called in France , originally comes from French heraldry and is to be regarded as a replacement for the common crowns of rank . This special form of the beret was introduced by the heraldry reform known as Napoleonic heraldry. The appearance can be described as a white “chef's hat” with ostrich feathers on the front center. The toque is seen as a late variant of the tournament hat alongside the beret. Different shapes and numbers of feathers determined the rank of nobility.
