What Does King Henry VIII and Winter Custom Hats Have in Common?

Posted by Larry on March 3rd, 2016

Ever wonder who invented the tuque? The tuque has an interesting history dating almost 500 years ago. From its humble beginning as part of a chef uniform, the tuque has evolved to today’s all-purpose cap.
 
The tuque mainstream use traces its roots to a chef in the mid-1800s. Chef Marie-Antoine Careme made the world’s first chefs’ uniform, with a tuque. Back then, chefs were educated. They could read and write, which helped them keep records of their recipes for the benefit of other chefs. There were considered some of the most learned people in the society. To mark their social status, it only made sense for chefs to wear a uniform. 
 
The chef hat, also known as a tuque, predates the chef’s uniform by more than three hundred years. Many people in the 1500s wore hats to show the kind of work they did. A story goes that King Henry VIII found a hair in his soup and ordered the beheading of the poor cook who prepared his meal. The replacement chef wore a hat to avoid a similar fate. It suffices to say the hat worked since he remained the King’s cook for a long time. 
 
The tuque has two purposes. First, it keeps hair from falling into the food chefs prepare. Cooks in restaurants wear a hair net for this very reason. The second purpose of a tuque was to show how much experience the chef had. Very much like stripes on a military uniform, the pleats, and height of the tuque indicated the achievement and expertise of a cook. Originally, the pleats and height showed how many ways a chef could cook an egg. 
 
Fast forward 500 years later, the tuque has become a fashion accessory. Today it bears almost no resemblance to its early cousins. The modern tuque is a customized winter hat that sticks close to the head to keep people warm. They are used in almost every activity. Professional skaters and skiers at the Olympic use tuques to keep warm when competing.
 
The modern tuque plays a fashion role as well. They are no longer viewed as practical headgear anymore. A tuque makes its own fashion statement depending on its design. They have made it into Hollywood with U2’s guitarist spotted in a tuque last year. And he was not wearing it because he felt cold. Justin Bieber is always wearing one, and so does David Beckham and Brad Pitt. 
 
How Do you Get A Custom Winter hat?
 
Folks who want their very own custom winter hat or tuque and have no crochet experience are lucky. Only they need to do is head to a custom made beanie website and choose a style they like. From the style, they can design a mock-up of the tuque they want and after approving the style, the company makes the beanie for them. It’s as easy as that. No knitting knowledge or experience required, just clicking through various designs.
 
The biggest benefit about create a tuque service is that the design is unique. It is hard to come across a person with a similar tuque.
 
 

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Larry

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Larry
Joined: October 7th, 2015
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