Meaning & use
toque blanche
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableformalspecialist
The tall white hat traditionally worn by a professional chef.
Grammar: Countable: one toque blanche, two toques blanches. The plural keeps the French spelling.
Patterns
- wear a toque blanche
- a tall toque blanche
In the old photograph every cook in the kitchen is wearing a toque blanche.
She folded her toque blanche carefully and put it in her locker after the shift.
The restaurant keeps a spare toque blanche for visiting chefs.
nouncountableformalspecialist
The pleated white cap worn as part of a chef's formal uniform at competitions and ceremonies.
Grammar: Countable and usually singular in this ceremonial sense: he was presented with a toque blanche.
Patterns
- be presented with a toque blanche
- a ceremonial toque blanche
At the graduation ceremony each student received a toque blanche.
Judges at the competition all wore a toque blanche with the event logo.
Word forms
| plural | toques blanches |
|---|
Common combinations
- wear a toque blanche
- All the senior chefs wear a toque blanche in the open kitchen.
- a tall toque blanche
- His tall toque blanche made him easy to spot across the dining room.
- remove your toque blanche
- Please remove your toque blanche before you leave the kitchen.
- a traditional toque blanche
- The hotel still expects a traditional toque blanche at dinner service.
- put on a toque blanche
- He put on a toque blanche and started plating the desserts.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chef's hat
- The everyday term; use it in normal conversation, and keep 'toque blanche' for menus, articles, or formal writing.
- toque
- Shorter and can mean any tall brimless hat, so it is less precise when you mean the white chef's version.
- chef's toque
- A middle ground that is clearer than bare 'toque' but less formal than the full French phrase.
Word family
- toque noun
- A tall, close-fitting hat without a brim, worn by chefs and others.
Commonly confused: toque blanche or toque? toque blanche or tuque?
toque blanche vs toque
On its own, 'toque' can be a winter hat or a judge's hat, so add 'blanche' when you mean the white chef's hat.
toque blanche vs tuque
A Canadian word for a close-fitting knitted winter cap, pronounced differently and not worn by chefs.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'toque blanche' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A toque blanche is a chef's hat, so it can be adjusted or worn; the other options treat it as a liquid, a plant, or a heavy object, which does not fit the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “toque blanche”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.