do most chefs actually wear those chef hats, If so why? And if not where does the idea that they do come from?

Question

Been puzzling me for a while.

In: Other

Answer 1

I worked in a large arena kitchen that hosted an NHL team. We had an executive chef, and he had 2 executive sous chefs.

Every restaurant had a chef, and a first cook who was a sous chef in all but name.

In total, we had about 40 or 50 kitchen staff. Our chefs all wore the paper chef hats so we were able to spot the management staff. It especially helped newer staff members learn who was in charge.

It’s a status symbol in some kitchens. A lot of people hate them. I’ve known some chefs who refuse ro answer to anything but ‘chef’ when wearing one.

Kitchens are weird, man.