According to Wikipedia, a toque is simply "a type of hat with a narrow brim or no brim at all ... popular from the 13th to the 16th century in Europe, especially France ... revived in the 1930s ... Now it is primarily known as the traditional headgear for professional cooks, except in Canada where the term toque is primarily used for knit caps."
The 100 folds in a toque blanche are said to represent the 100 different ways in which an expert chef can cook an egg.
© Haydn Thompson 2023