Published January 28 2026

Through some of the Nordic’s top restaurants to Switzerland, chef and culinary entrepreneur Saku Wahlman relies on a Finnish kitchen classic in his daily work: a fiber cloth. He considers it a true Finnish innovation that belongs in every quality-driven professional kitchen.

A Finnish fine dining chef, Saku Wahlman has worked in restaurants in Finland and Sweden before settling in the Swiss countryside outside Bern. This is where he now works as a private chef and culinary consultant for embassies and corporate clients.

Wahlman approaches his work with a calm but passionate Eastern Finnish mindset and a strong respect for craft. Every dish, he believes, must be built around a unique idea that gives the guest something to remember.

Despite the international setting, one of Wahlman’s most important working tools is missing. A food-grade fiber cloth made in Finland by Fredman, a Finnish professional kitchen tools manufacturer.

Wahlman calls the Fredman cloths a Finnish innovation that has been a decades-old professional kitchen staple in Finland but remains virtually unknown in Central Europe.

When pressure is high, tools are critical

In his work, Wahlman moves between different cooking environments, but the expectations are always the same; high-quality ingredients, precise execution and flawless hygiene.

“When the pace is high, there is no room for mistakes,” he says.

“You are working with hot dishes, pans and different surfaces at the same time. Order is everything. That is where the Fredman fiber cloth becomes essential.”

In most Central European kitchens, cleaning is done with reusable cloths that are washed after service. Every chef goes through several cloths per shift.

Disposable options exist, but often lack the quality required for professional cooking, Wahlman describes.

One cloth, several functions

Wahlman takes Fredman cloths with him from Finland to Switzerland. For him, their value lies in how many different tasks the cloths handle:

• as a highly absorbent disposable cleaning cloth
• as a strong and hygienic cloth for handling meat, fish and raw ingredients
• as a functional cooking tool, for example for straining sauces or filtering liquids.
  

“After a service, there is no trace of me”

Whenever Wahlman starts work in a new kitchen, he prepares a set of pre-moistened fiber cloths and places them at key stations. They are used to wipe down worktops, clean knives and bowls and polish plates with a vinegar and water mixture

During busy services, chefs may be working with hundreds of components across grills, burners and hot surfaces. Hygiene, order and safety are critical. When there are strong cloths always ready to be used, the kitchen stays under control and mistakes are avoided, Wahlman explains. After a day’s use, the cloths are simply disposed of in mixed waste.

“Working life becomes easier when you have such a versatile cloth,” Wahlman says. “It makes everything more efficient and helps you reach the goals of each event without wasting time on unnecessary steps.”

He concludes: “When I leave an event, everything is clean. There is no trace of me.”

From Nordic seasonal thinking to classical technique

Wahlman’s cooking philosophy is rooted in the Nordic respect for seasonality, combined with classical French and Italian techniques.

His menus regularly feature Finnish game such as elk and reindeer, wild berries and dark breads, which contrast with Central European baking traditions with their deeper taste profiles.

The Fredman fiber cloth plays a practical role in this precise style of cooking. It is used for handling and storing meat and fish as well as in cooking processes. Long reduced sauces are strained through it to achieve a clean, fine texture. Stocks are perfected using the cloth as a spice bag and excess fat is absorbed from the surface with it.

“I can take a dish to its final level using the cloth,” Wahlman says.

A tool that becomes indispensable 

“A professional kitchen is a high-pressure environment,” Saku says. “Details decide the outcome. When things in the kitchen are in motion, you don’t have time for mistakes. You only understand how versatile the Fredman cloth is when you don’t have it.” 

Saku Wahlman will appear at the Intergastra trade fair in Stuttgart, Germany, presenting live cooking demonstrations with Finnish professional kitchen products. The Fredman fiber cloth will be part of those demonstrations.

Photos: Larissa Phileas