Celebrity Chefs And Their Hats

Think of the term "chef's hat," and you'll most likely think of one of those tall, frilly white things that French chefs wear in the kitchen. Called toques, they actually serve several functions in the kitchen, including keeping hair out of food and helping the chef avoid bumping his (or her) head. But when they're not cooking, chefs wear all kinds of headgear, and in honor of National Hat Day, we tracked down photos of 20 of America's most popular chefs sporting their favorite hats. 

Here's Aarón Sanchez hanging out with none other than Pitbull, sporting a light blue flat cap.

The American Diner Revival host shows off her cookbook, The Chef Next Door, in a snazzy gray felt fedora.

We're loving this retro hat being work by chef Carla Hall, pictured here with James Beard Foundation president Susan Ungaro.

Chef Cesare sent us this photo of his wearing his favorite headgear, a classic cowboy hat. 

Chef Dale Talde is rarely seen without a hat, and on a recent day when he was hanging out with Mario Batali he wore a classic six-panel hat from HUF.

A flat cap was the style of choice for Graham Elliot when this photo of him and a contestant on MasterChef Junior was snapped. 

You'll never see Guy Fieri wearing a baseball cap on TV, but on a recent visit back to his dorm room at UNLV he wore a flat-brim number repping his hometown Oakland Raiders.

Jacques Pépin sent over this photo of himself wearing his favorite navy blue beret and holding his pet dog, a miniature poodle named Gaston. 

At a recent Burger Bash at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Josh Capon and his team wore hats from his restaurant, Lure Fishbar. 

Ludo kept it casual on a recent first class flight with his son, sporting a flat-brim Nike F.C. cap.

This dapper gentleman knows how to rock a newsboy cap. 

Batali's pictured hanging out with chef Dominique Ansel, sporting a baseball cap from his restaurant, Otto.

The Border Grill chef (and along with Susan Feniger, half of the Too Hot Tamales) sent us these photos of her wearing a hat from chef outfitter Chefworks. "I got it in a goodie bag years ago and I do like to wear it," Milliken told us. 

Whenever we've seen Michael Symon wearing a hat, it's been a short-brim fedora similar to this one. 

Richard Blais' Crack Shack opened in San Diego last year specializing in chicken and eggs, and we have to compliment them on their hat design. 

Kogi's Roy Choi is another chef who always seems to be wearing a baseball cap; this one is for the LA Dodgers. 

We love this photo of a very relaxed-looking Scott Conant circa 1995, wearing a very tall woven straw hat. 

Husk's Sean Brock also always seems to be wearing a curved brim baseball cap. He seems partial to this one, which reads "Make Cornbread Not War," and we love it too. 

Spike rose to fame on Top Chef wearing an assortment of short-brim straw fedoras like this one. He's pictured here with chefs Stephanie Izard, José Andrés, and Antonia Lofaso. 

Per Se and The French Laundry's Thomas Keller brought out all his hats for us, and it's quite a selection: He's wearing his super-tall chef's toque and arranged before him are a ten-gallon hat, a construction hat emblazoned with The French laundry's logo, a 49ers 2012 NFC West Champions hat, a San Francisco Giants World Series hat, and a TaylorMade M1 golf hat.