They're not just for show—those towering white hats carry centuries of culinary history, clues to kitchen hierarchy and tons ...

You don't see them used as often in the postmodern world, but traditional chef hats were tall for a reason. Turns out, the design was quite practical.

Whenever Chef Pierre Dousson is in the kitchen he has many things on his mind, and one thing on his head: the tall white pleated hat called a toque. That 9 inches of stiff paper or starched cloth ...

Images of chef’s outfits from the late 1800s show what looks like a toque, but the height of the hats became shorter with each decade. “ The Chef’s Uniform ," another journal article, dove ...

Sunday Times News: The chef's tall hat, also called toque, has its origins in mediaeval Europe, when in some countries.

History And Origins Of Toques: How Chefs Started Wearing Long White Hats. There are several theories about the origin of chef hats. Some trace them back to ancient Assyria or later Byzantine Greece.