I can't wear a chefs hat everyday, I work in a tight space and I'm on the tall side. So everytime I bend over it bangs into something and falls off.

Baseball hats block the sun outside and the light inside. When I wear one I need an engineers flash light attached to the bill to see. Then I often stop at the store before or after work and feel silly wearing a baseball cap at my age (late thirtys) but I'm not about to go in with hat hair.

Hair nets are soooo old lady looking, then add a few extra pounds around your waist and you really look like a old ----.

The boat style paper caps are better than a chefs hat but then you look like a dish washer or your a "want to be" chef....

Then I have short hair and feel like I need to wear big earrings so when I'm out front the members don't call me "sir".

Help, what are you wearing????

By Cheftim (Cheftim) on Friday, May 26, 2000 - 12:36 pm: Edit

W. DeBord,
Why Don't you wear an unstarched cloth toque, I have the same problem with the tall chef hats, knocking my head off every time I walk under the hood. The cloth toques work great and keep within the cooking style of head gear.

By Panini (Panini) on Friday, May 26, 2000 - 02:52 pm: Edit

Wear the skull cap that is so popular now. It reminds me of the caps they use to wear when you were a pastry or bread apprentice in France.
They are very fashionable and they even make them to match your pants.
You can also get very colorful scrub hats.
"Look like a chef, Be a chef".
After thinking about who I was writing to, how about a helmet! ha ha.
panini

By momoreg on Friday, May 26, 2000 - 06:28 pm: Edit

W.,
I agree, there isn't anything I can wear that I like and that's practical for the kitchen. At the moment, I have long hair, and I pin it down like crazy with bobby pins.

By Ramodeo (Ramodeo) on Saturday, May 27, 2000 - 08:13 am: Edit

The regulations in our area are suprisingly lenient. As long as the hair is reasonably short, no hat is required. Individual operations enforce their own standards. Our chef - my husband - is a "don't touch the hair" type, so he doesn't wear a hat. The only time hats are worn at our place is when chefs are working a dining room buffet. Anybody with hair long enough to pin it up does - male and female.

If I had to wear a hat, I'd choose one of those skull caps Panini mentioned. Or the beret they show in the catalogs. Ithink it's a little snappier looking than the floppy fabric toques.

My biggest problem in hats is that I find very few that fit. No mens of womens one size fits all fit me, and even adjustable baseball caps are often too small. Paper toques can be made to fit, but if I open up the bottom big enough, they end up looking like a pyramid! :-)

By d. on Saturday, May 27, 2000 - 05:12 pm: Edit

W., you crack me up...In LA, health department regulations say you have to wear a hat or hair net. Your right about the hairnet, don't want to look like the cafeteria lunch lady. I don't like those tall toques and the cloth ones(unstarched) look like a giant mushroom sprouting off the top of your head. Baseball caps usually cause acne on my forehead, so scratch that.My hair is quite long so it all doesn't fit into a skull cap(but if it did I would use one) so I tuck it all into a Kanga(I think that's the brand name) golfer's hat that I wear backwards. You know, when ska was pretty hip a year ago and everyone started wearing those hats. Works great and all the guys at work say I look way cute! And I recently got a beret from Chefwear which I am comfortable with, since it's light and airy, and looks good too.

By W.DeBord on Saturday, May 27, 2000 - 11:18 pm: Edit

ska what? I can't hide the fact I don't own a clue about kanga either. Do I go to a sporting goods store to find a kanga?

Honestly, last night I'm out front taking care of my buffet and an old man says to his wife (refering to me) "maybe that fellow can help you". Really!? A quick check lower than my hairless looking head hidden under my chefs hat would have bought him a clue....but in the mean time it's kind of embarassing being called a guy at my age and cup size.

Funny after a few years at the same place with-out wearing a hat the day my helper shows up so did the hat rule...

So I should get a catalog for chefswear. It still leaves the problem of hat hair...does hat hair show up on a Susan Powder hairdo (maybe that's how I should go)?

By momoreg on Sunday, May 28, 2000 - 07:44 am: Edit

I tried that do once..I'd rather have the hat hair.

By Raine on Sunday, May 28, 2000 - 11:04 am: Edit

Baseball cap, may look unprofessional, but people rarely see me. Most hats are too big for my head. I also have long hair,and it works better for my braid. Low shelves are still a problem.
Use to pin, twist and knot it like crazy. Now takes me half the time to get ready for work.

By d. on Sunday, May 28, 2000 - 01:43 pm: Edit

W., I've just gone into hat stores, department stores, etc. and tried on stuff I like: berets, caps, bandanas, driver's caps. Ska is a type of music that got pretty popular early last year and with that drivers/golfers gap became a trend, you wear it backwards. Looks really hip. The brand name is Kangol, but they make other kinds of hats. Nike has one too but all my hair didn't fit. Try www.chefwear.com. What's nice about the beret from this company is that its got vent holes, so your head doesn't steam up when your running around the kitchen.

By W.DeBord on Tuesday, May 30, 2000 - 08:29 am: Edit

I'm not the shopper I use to be...it use to be fun to shop, now it's a chore. I'll try chefwear thanks!

By GlennM on Monday, November 27, 2000 - 05:47 pm: Edit

Im a big fan of a regular old blue or red banddana tied 'do-rag" style. I Just double up my hair in an elastic tie so its up above my neck, then tie the bandana over that...its so tight that it cant be knocked off, its light cotton so it isnt hot, and it keeps my long hair put...this might not work in a kitchen with any type of public visibility though...I kind of look like a reject from the a hells Angels out fit at work:D

By pam on Tuesday, November 28, 2000 - 12:34 am: Edit

I wear the "mushroom" cloth hats. I have some cute ones with cats on it, so they look more feminine. Any amount of hair can be tucked into them & they close w velcro so they're pretty adaptable. The bad thing is they give you really bad hat hair.

By W.DeBord on Tuesday, November 28, 2000 - 08:22 am: Edit

I gave-up on looking "good" at work for looking normal when I leave work. I bought several different hats but now I won't wear them. They all flatten your hair! Which is fine if you have long hair, but I have short hair that I kind of spike outward...when I take off a hat there's no "recovering" my "doo" with-out wetting and re-doing. I decided it was best to look good for my husband at night instead of my co-workers. The paper boat shaped ones that dishwashers wear do the least damage, and there cool because there so light.

I just don't see why hair spray doesn't count as a hair net for women with short hair? Rave #4 is stronger than glue!