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About the Toque

The toque most likely originated as the result of the gradual evolution of head coverings worn by cooks throughout the centuries. Their roots are sometimes traced to the casque a meche (stocking cap) worn by 18th-century French chefs. The colour of the casque a meche denoted the rank of the wearer. Boucher, the personal chef of the French statesman Talleyrand, was the first to insist on white toques for sanitary reasons.

The modern toque is popularly believed to have originated with the famous French chefs Marie-Antoine Carême and … [READ MORE]

About Knit Hats

In some sections of Canada a tuque with a brim on it, commonly worn by snowboarders, is nicknamed a bruque (a brimmed tuque). The tuque is similar to the Phrygian cap and, as such, during the 1837 Patriotes Rebellion a red tuque became a symbol of French-Canadian nationalism. The symbol was revived briefly by the Front de libération du Québec in the 1960s.

In the United States, this type of hat is more commonly referred to by other names: knit hat or knit cap, sock cap or stocking cap, watch cap, (to)boggan, skull cap , snow hat, ski cap … [READ MORE]