Is wearing hats while in restaurants considered proper etiquette? Hats have been more than a fashion trend over the centuries. They have been used as ceremonial garments as well as used to keep the wearer alive in the heat or cold.
Entire cultures have been stereotyped by the hat they wear. In the desert, the hat has been designed to keep the wearer alive. The veil attached to the bride’s hat or the widows gives the lady the illusion of privacy.
The hat worn in battle announced the leaders as well as the messengers to the men on the field. Today hats as part of uniforms are worn daily. Sports caps announce who the wearer is a fan of. In restaurants, hats are the law in many locations to help keep hair out of the food.
Yet despite the great love and value of the hat, it has always been rude at best to wear them inside. This is especially true in restaurants. Like so many things the etiquette of the hat is evolving for good or bad and it is worth looking at the role of the hat inside and out, male or female.
For years, we are told that we should not wear hats while indoors or when we go out to eat. But, is this still true in today’s society? However, wearing a hat during the National Anthem or any respectful event is considered disrespectful.
Nowadays, we see men wearing hats in informal restaurants like fast food places and coffee shops. On the other hand, is it okay to wear hats in these places or at a formal restaurant?
This article will answer this question and more on the proper etiquette of wearing hats.
All about the hat
Years ago around the 1930s and before, hats were worn just about everywhere except for when greeting a person, entering a church or other building or when eating out, at least for men.
Women were exempt from this rule due to the fact that their hats were considered fashionable and it would have taken them a long time removing said hats because of the use of hatpins. Today’s women do not have to worry about this because hat pins went the way of petticoats and tricorn hats.
In today’s society, it is considered rude to wear hats in restaurants. However, here are a few examples of when it is acceptable and not acceptable to wear hats, both for men and women:
Men
Hats are allowed…
- Outdoors
- At athletic events (indoors or out)
- On public transportation (buses, trains, and subways)
- In public buildings (post offices, airports, and hotel or office lobbies)
- On elevators
Hats including baseball caps are not allowed…
- In another person’s house
- While eating
- At work (unless at a construction site)
- In schools, libraries, courthouses, or town halls
- In restaurants and coffee shops
- In movie theaters or at indoor events (concerts, wrestling matches, and circuses)
- In churches, unless it is required
- When the National Anthem is playing
- When the flag of the United States passes by, as in a parade
Women
Hats (fancy or otherwise) are allowed…
- Outdoors
- At athletic events (indoors or out)
- On public transportation (buses, trains, and subways)
- In public buildings (post offices, airports, and hotel or office lobbies)
- On elevators
If wearing a fashion hat, take it off…
- If it blocks another person’s view of a wedding, funeral, or baptism
Hats are not allowed…
- In another person’s house
- While eating
- At work (unless at a construction site)
- In schools, libraries, courthouses, or town halls
- In restaurants and coffee shops
- In movie theaters or at indoor events (concerts, wrestling matches, and circuses)
- In churches, unless it is required
- When the National Anthem is playing
- When the flag of the United States passes by, as in a parade
Even those in the military should follow these rules as well. Soldiers have a specific hat or cover they wear while in uniform, whether on active duty or not. After all, you never see those in uniform ordering food or eating at McDonald’s with their hats on.
Hats off to employees
Whether you work at a fast-food establishment or a fancy restaurant, you must always wear a hat when working around food. In some places, hairnets are used to help prevent your hair from getting inside the customers’ food.
If an employee has a beard, usually a special hair net is used to cover said beard. If beard hair in the sink bothers you, then you know your customers would not like to see beard hair in their soup or salad.
According to the Food Code, all employees are required to wear either hair nets, hats, caps, or scarves when handling food that is unpackaged, clean dishes and cooking utensils, or surfaces that food was prepared on.
On the other hand, employees like bartenders are not required to wear a hair covering so long as it does not fall into the drinks and any food they serve from the bar.
If employees do not follow the Code or have long hair that is not pulled back securely:
- Your restaurant would lose its reputation as a place to eat
- You could be sued for negligence
- You would lose customers quickly
- Loose hair is a safety hazard for it could get caught in the food prep equipment
The FDA Food Code states:
- Except as provided in [paragraph] (B) of this section, food employees shall wear hair restraints such as hats, hair coverings or nets, beard restraints, and clothing that covers body hair, that is designed to effectively keep hair from contacting exposed food; clean equipment, utensils, and linens; and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles.
- This section does not apply to food employees such as counter staff who only serve beverages and wrapped or packaged foods, hostesses, and wait staff if they present a minimal risk of contaminating exposed food; clean equipment, utensils, and linens; and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles.
In regards to selecting the appropriate hat for your employees to wear – they must be easy to clean or even disposable without metal clips or fasteners that could break with wear, defeating the purpose of covering the hair.
If you own a restaurant and you expect your workers to wear hair restraints, should you wear one as well? Survey says yes, just in case!
Even if you have nothing to do with food prep, wearing a hair restraint when visiting the kitchen area will prevent your hair from straying into the food. After all, it is unfair to the employees if you come into their work area without your hair pulled back and your hair falls into the food.
Hats off cowboy
Cowboy hats are worn a lot today. You see them everywhere you go. You even see them in fast-food restaurants. Here are a few etiquette tips for wearing cowboy hats:
- The hat comes off when entering a building.
- The hat stays off if at a formal event like a wedding or funeral.
- Whenever you sit to eat, the hat comes off. However, if you sit at a counter like at a diner, the hat stays on.
- The hat is always removed when eating in a restaurant. Unless it’s at a fast-food restaurant.
Women and their hats
Have you always wondered why it is that women can wear hats indoors and not men? Well, wonder no more. Women have always worn hats, usually fancy ones that complement their outfits.
When wearing fashionable hats, women are allowed to wear them indoors unless it was blocking another person’s view. If the woman is wearing a hat that is considered unisex or something men and women can wear such as a baseball cap, then they follow the same rules as a man.
This seems unfair to the men especially when a man is wearing a fancy fedora or a cowboy hat. Why shouldn’t they get to wear their hat indoors? It is quite simple. It all goes back to the past.
Men were gentlemen and were expected to act a certain way. Knights would doff their helmets when entering a dwelling and when greeting a woman. This was their way of saying that they are peaceful and not looking for a fight.
This tradition continued throughout the years. Cowboys of the Old West were expected to remove their hats when greeting a woman and when entering a home. However, why were women not expected to do the same?
It all came down to how the woman’s hat was worn. They had so many hatpins and outrageous decorations that it would take them several minutes just to remove them!
While not many women wear fancy hats with that many decorations and hat pins, the rule allowing women to wear hats indoors still applies except if they are wearing baseball caps.
Do chefs have to wear hats?
If you have watched Gordan Ramsey’s Hell’s Kitchen, then you have seen the hats his chosen head chefs for the show wear. Or you might have seen the hat worn in the Disney movie Ratatouille.
The hat is called a toque and its look is very distinctive. The hat is pleated and it is said that the more pleats there are on it, the higher the chef’s expertise.
No one is sure if this is true but it shows who is boss in the kitchen. The color of the hat was considered to be the most hygienic color to use. The color gave a sense of cleanliness as well.
The hat was also used to cover the hair to prevent it from getting into the food. It was said that King Henry VIII killed his cook because he had found hair in his food.
He then had the cook’s replacement wear a hat to prevent this from happening again.
History of the Toque
There is a lot of history about why chefs wear hats when in the kitchen. Here are a few more facts about the toque.
Fact #1
When the Byzantine Empire invaded Greece, the chefs fled to the monasteries to escape death. The chefs at that time could read and be afraid for their lives because of this.
While in the monastery, the chefs adopted the style of clothes the monks wore, including the tall hat. Instead of wearing the garb in black, they chose white for they believed that white would appease God while they hid.
After the invading force was forced back, the chefs continued wearing the white hats.
Fact #2
Assyrian chefs wore tall headdresses to distinguish them from the lower staff. They were allowed to wear these headdresses because their kings wanted to appease them so that they would not be poisoned by the chefs.
Fact #3
The height of the chef’s hat is said to help wick away the heat from the wearer’s head.
Fact #4
Supposedly, the chef hats acted as a fan, forcing the air to circulate to the top from the bottom.
Fact #5
The chef’s head was protected from head injuries while in the kitchen because of the hats they wore.
Fact #6
According to legend, the chefs were protected from losing their heads by the knights they angered because of the hat’s height.
Fact #7
Those who were organizers for the festivals in the Greek and Roman eras gave the chefs laurel leafed hats as a special uniform to wear at the beginning of the festivals.
Chefs’ hats today
Today you see more and more chefs not wearing toques unless they are working in a more formal restaurant. Depending on what type of restaurant they work at, a hairnet works just as well as the toque.
As the years go by, there are more choices for a chef’s hat:
- Classic chef hats
- Doo-rags
- Pillbox
- Cool caps
- Beanies
- Disposable Paper toques (that can be thrown away).
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