Today Ask Yahoo! answered another pressing question, relieving millions around the globe. Today's question is
How Did the Chef's Hat Originate?I thought I should offer my view on the subject. I present it here, quite simply.
Q. How Did the Chef's Hat Originate?
A. Originally, chefs wore white cloth hats to keep their hair out of their eyes, as well as the food. At that time, the chef's hats were similar to those worn by butchers. Those were the days when a high-class restaurant was one where serving a boiled egg with a side of salt was the special of the year and cost over 100 stone. (equivalent to a $25USD lobster dinner on Cape Cod.) However, over time, cooking found it's niche, and patrons demanded even more high class dining. This stumped many top chefs of the time. But one man was to save the culinary world, and change it forever. His name was Phil Aminyon. Aminyon was a poor Egyptian country chef in his early days, but already there were signs of his potential. In his humble restaurant, Aminyon coined such terms as 'spices', 'broil' and 'dash'. The establishment quickly rose to high esteem among patrons and critics alike for it's innovative dishes, featuring such novelties as water with meals (there was no coffee available at that time, see
Invention of Coffee), the use of pepper, and sliced carrots. But the height of his career and fame peaked when, after traveling the world to gather a total knowledge of cooking, he became so smart and his knowledge was so great that his mind simply could no longer contain everything, and to accompany this, began to expand and grow. His mind continued this way and soon, he could no longer fit his hat over his enlarged head, so he quickly made some modification to his hat and he was able to go to work that day. It continued in this fashion until the hat was about a foot to a foot and a half tall and included the modern 'puffed' top. Aminyon designed the hat this way, because his head had grown to the point where the top was deformed and could only fit inside the hat this way. Many top chef's around the world have admired Aminyon's hat design and skill, and have managed to duplicate his hat design and it has remained a popular chef's hat until this day, although the story of its origin was lost in the 17th century until the time it was rediscovered by 2 French archaeologists in August of 1803.
Contrary to common belief, Aminyon did not invent the dish modernly known as Fillet Minion, it was actually his son, Phil Aminyon II, who is accredited with the invention.
Now you know the REAL story of the origin on the chef's hat! ;)
