Sage-Tips

What do the 100 pleats in a chefs hat represent?

The pleats in a chef’s hat, back in the day, were said to represent the number of ways the chef wearing it could cook an egg – 100 pleats being the ultimate goal and badge of honor, denoting the skill, experience, and rank of the chef.

How do the folds relate to eggs for a chef?

In the early days of French cuisine, the number of pleats were intended to represent the number of recipes a chef had mastered for a given food, like egg or chicken. Having a hat with 100 pleats meant you were a master chef. This idea also applied to the height of the hat. The taller the toque, the more a chef knew.

Is there really 100 ways to cook an egg?

Boiled, scrambled (soft or hard), poached, baked, basted, fried, shirred, coddled, pickled (as in quail eggs) and used to make omelets, quiche, frittatas, and soufflés.

What are the 101 ways to cook an egg?

there’s scrambled, over easy, over medium, over hard, poached, shirred, soft boiled, hard boiled, pickled, baked, sunny side up; in an omelette, quiche, or frittata; etc, etc, etc.

What is the 101 ripples represent in a toque?

A chef hat was originally designed as a tall rippled hat called a Dodin Bouffant or more commonly a toque. The Dodin Bouffant had 101 ripples that represent the number of ways that the chef could prepare eggs.

What is the USDA symbol on a carton of eggs mean?

Egg cartons bearing the USDA Grade Shield – usually either “USDA Grade AA” or “USDA Grade A” – must meet strict U.S. quality standards. This includes claims regarding the method of production (cage-free, free range, etc.), making the USDA Grade Shield a symbol of quality and integrity.

Why is a chef hat so tall?

These days, a modern chef hat is tall to allow for the circulation of air above the head and also provides an outlet for heat. This type of hat is called a “toque blanche” (French for “white hat”). The wearing of a hat prevents hair from falling into food and prevents sweat from dripping down the face.

What does Cage Free mean for eggs?

Cage-free eggs indicate that hens were not kept in battery cages, allowed instead to move about the egg production barn. But cage-free does not mean hens were given access to the outdoors. They were also likely stocked at high densities, meaning there was no limit to the number of birds in a given barn.

How could the cage free birds be raised?

Unlike battery hens, cage-free hens are able to walk, spread their wings and lay their eggs in nests, vital natural behaviors denied to hens confined in cages. The vast majority of cage-free hens live on farms that are 3rd-party audited by certification programs that mandate perching and dust-bathing areas.

What do you know about the chef’s hat?

The chef’s hat is a status symbol in the kitchen and each fold is a representation of the experience the chef has, each of the recipes he is able to cook. Consequently, the 100 folds of the chef’s hat are due to the 100 ways a chef can cook an egg. 100 ways! How many do you know?

Why are there so many folds in a Chef’s Kitchen?

Different heights indicate rank within a kitchen (the head chef’s toque is the tallest), and the many folds are said to be symbolic of the many ways to cook an egg. @paulbocuse_officiel poses in his kitchen at L’Auberge de Pont de Collonges in 2012.

Why are there so many folds in a chef’s toque?

When it comes to culinary mythology, the French provide excellent material. For instance, mayonnaise is believed to be named for the taking of Port Mahon by the Duke of Richelieu in 1756. How valiant! Another good one: The hundred folds in a chef’s toque (that tall, pleated hat) represent the hundred ways to cook an egg.

What does it mean when a chef has 100 pleats?

Having a hat with 100 pleats meant you were a master chef. This idea also applied to the height of the hat. The taller the toque, the more a chef knew. If you saw a chef with a towering cap, you could be sure they were likely the head of the kitchen.