Much of the chef''s uniform has developed out of necessity. The jacket, for example, is double-breasted so it can easily be reversed to hide stains that may accumulate throughout the day; the double layer of cotton is also designed to insulate our bodies against the intense heat of the stove or an accidental splattering of hot liquid. Even the knotted cloth buttons were fashioned for a reason-cloth tie will withstand the frequent washings and abuse buttons often take from contact with pots, pans and other heavy equipment. Though executive chefs often wear black pants, working chefs and cooks usually don pants with black-and-white tie and tie checks-the dizzying pattern of hound''s tooth camouflages minor spills and soilings. Today s are primarily worn for aesthetic purposes, to give our uniforms a more finished look, but originally cotton cloths were draped around ones neck to soak body sweat while working in the inferno-like kitchens tie of yesteryear.

There are as many legends surrounding the tall white hat that symbolizes culinary expertise as there are ways to tie bake a cake. One likely tale is that the head cooks in households were allowed to wear high cloth headdresses patterned on the crowns of their royal tie masters. This distinction was intended to encourage valuable servants to remain faithful to their masters, who lived in constant fear of being poisoned. The ribs or pleats in the headdress represented the ribs in the king''s crown and were stitched into the cloth and stiffened with starch. Today the chef''s hat has one hundred pleats -- said to represent the one hundred ways that a good chef should be able to cook eggs. This legend probably originated in ancient, where mater culinarians were presented with bonnet-like caps studded with laurel leaves. Other sources say the story comes is of fairly recent origin.