Chefs around the world wear white and high-waisted hats. Is this a long-standing custom or is it a certain rule?”- the question raised by Phan Thi My Uyen, residing in Hoa Vang District, Da Nang is probably a common question of a large number of other people. Below is the story about the chef's hat told quite interestingly in the article "The story behind the chef's hat" posted on hoteljob.vn

Students of Viet Nam - Australia Vocational College (VAVC) wear white hats whilst practising cooking with their teacher- a foreign culinary expert (photo taken before COVID-19 resurgence). Photo: V.T.L

Legend has it that in the United Kingdom, during the reign of King Henry VIII, the king discovered a hair in the soup in one of his meal. He was very insensed and ordered all cooks to wear hats while cooking so that the same thing would not happen again. Since then, the white chef's hat was used in the kitchen.

On the other hand, Greek people have believed in their long-standing story about the chef's hat. In the Middle Ages, in the land of Greece - the trade route between Asia and Europe - many people had to flee to the monastery to take refuge due to frequent wars. Among them has some good cooks who were always ready to show off their cooking skills in the monastery's kitchen to give people their delicious meals. However, since their clothes here are black which is the same as the monks, they changed black hats to white ones to make themselves stand out. Later, the monastic cooks also changed to white hats.  This "movement" gradually spread to other monasteries, even to cooks outside the monastery.

At the end of the 18^th century, a famous French chef named Krem felt unsatisfied since his disciples' hats were as high as his own. Therefore, he asked someone to make his tall white hat to distinguish the level between teachers and students. When his disciples matured and had students, they also imitated Krem, wearing a taller white hat compared to students. However,   Krem's white hat was always a few inches higher than the hats of his disciples and grows higher over time. It is said that the highest hat is up to nearly 40cm.

Since then, it is believed that the height of the chef's hat represents the ability, position and rank within a kitchen. However, wearing too high hats makes it convenient for chefs to move as well as cooking in the kitchen. Therefore, the kitchen hat has lowered and usually has a height of 23-31cm so that chefs feel comfortable and active when working. Moreover, there are often straight folds on these hats and the number of folds can also signify a chef's expertise, with each pleat representing a technique that has been mastered.

Nowadays, chefs’ hats have been innovated to become more eye-catching. In addition to helping the cook to look neater and cleaner, the chef's hat also shows the aesthetics, fashion and distinctive features of each different hotel and restaurant.

Reporting by Da Nang Today- Translating by T.VY