The Chef Hat or 'Toque' became popular throughout Europe towards the start of the 1860s. Not only did they make chefs uniquely identifiable amongst other service staff at hotels, restaurants, bars, etc; the light fabric allowed for cool air to circulate on the chefs head. (keeping them cool in an otherwise hot kitchen). The high of the toque represented the owning chef's "rank" in the kitchen they worked in and made individuals easy to locate. Also, the traditional 100 folds in the toque represented the 100 ways to cook eggs.