For more than four decades, restaurateurs and chefs have asked “How do you get a Good Food Guide hat? Can we buy one?” Well, no. Not one of those hats.

Since the first Good Food Guide was published in 1980, restaurants have been reviewed independently and anonymously by the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age to be awarded a coveted chef’s hat (or two, or three).

The latest round of chef hats were announced in October at the launch of The Age and SMH 2024 Good Food Guides. Reviewers visited more than 450 restaurants, bars, pubs and cafes in both Victoria and NSW/ACT, with some gaining a hat for the first time and others losing their long-held accolade.

But now, for the first time, a Good Food hat can be bought – sort of.

“When we featured an orange cap with the hat symbol on Good Food’s cover in November for our inaugural Good Food Guide Caps awards we received about a dozen emails from chefs and readers asking where they could buy the cap, and ‘how much?’” says Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide editor Callan Boys.

“Unfortunately, we only had one Good Food Guide ‘hat cap’ made for that cover shoot. The good folk at Worktones were quick to answer our call to action, though, and the new cap is a much sturdier piece of headwear than our original stunt cap. It’s also cheaper than getting a Good Food hat tattoo, like we’ve seen some chefs doing since the Guide was published.”

The Good Food chef cap is made in Australia, from 100 per cent cotton and comes in a fetching burnt orange colour with an adjustable strap. It is embroidered with the famous hat symbol designed by the late David Band.

The Good Food chef’s cap is $45 and can be bought via The Store. You can also get the 2024 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide and the 2024 Age Good Food Guide for $19.95 via The Store.