“In the heat of an open fire, clothing needs to be durable”

Restaurant Brasa's workwear is designed for a busy and hot work environment where everything has to look good. The special wishes of Kitchen Manager Taneli Korsiala and Restaurant Manager Severi Lukkarinen were realized in the stylish details of the workwear.

The heart of Helsinki restaurant Brasa is the large open-fire grill in the kitchen, where the fire burns from morning to night. The grill radiates heat within a radius of a few meters and the temperature next to the grill rises to close to 60 degrees.

"This is a bit like being in a sauna. You have to drink a lot of water during one shift," says chef Taneli Korsiala happily, who is busy at the grill.

Open grilling is a new phenomenon in Finnish restaurant kitchens. Korsiala is already familiar with it from his previous job in Australia. Working over the flames is demanding, but high-quality work clothes protect.

"We didn't need any special solutions from the fabrics. Medanta's materials have already taken the challenges of kitchen work into account very well."

Brasa relies on the Chef collection of clothing, which is flexible, breathable and antimicrobially protected.

"The fronts of the shirts are made of thicker and more protective fabric. Correspondingly, the backs are made of breathable and thin material. We manage perfectly with these," says Korsiala.

My own wishes for details came true

Brasa is part of the Olo Collection restaurants, which were created around the Michelin-starred restaurant Olo. The restaurant family has been using Medanta professional clothing for years.

The kitchen staff wear short-sleeved shirts designed by the Brasa team themselves. The slim-fit shirt has a stylish concealed button placket and a low stand-up collar.

"I had a men's shirt that I showed to the people of Medan. They were immediately enthusiastic. All our wishes were fulfilled, which is wonderful," Korsiala says.

The kitchen staff's shirts are ochre yellow. It was chosen to match the muted tones of the hall. The warm color is suitable for a restaurant where fire is an important element.

“Now look how beautifully the shade of the yellow shirt changes depending on the light! It reminds me of fire,” Taneli Korsiala observes and points to his shirt.

Chefs' shirts have a sturdy, two-part sleeve pocket, where tweezers, for example, can be conveniently carried.

“We need tweezers for building and correcting portions. It is important that they are easily and quickly available.”

An apron makes kitchen and living room outfits uniform

People work in the hall wearing Medanta's white long-sleeved shirts.

"No changes were needed. We have already found the model to be very functional in other Olo Collection restaurants. We also didn't want our own logos on our clothes, we think they are more stylish without them," says Severi Lukkarinen , Restaurant Manager at Brasa.

The long, narrow apron is used both in the kitchen and in the hall. Made of flexible MedantaFlex fabric, the apron is suitable for continuous use and repeated washing. The apron, specially designed for Brasa, has details that have been sewn according to the wishes of the employees.

A practical detail is the long straps that cross at the back of the apron and are threaded through the rings at the waist. The apron is easy to adjust to fit the user's body.

"We wanted the straps to cross because they don't put pressure on the neck and give you room to move both in the dining room and in the kitchen. Chefs tie the ends of the straps to the front of the apron, but in the dining room they don't do that. We're more stylish," Lukkarinen tells Korsiala with a smile.

“Yeah, in our kitchen, appearance is not the first thing on our mind,” Korsiala answers.

“The long ribbons are really practical because they allow us to hang the cloth around our waist. However, we need the cloth all the time.”

Lukkarinen believes that the apron has one very useful feature.

"The material repels dirt nicely. Small spills can be wiped off with a rag. You don't necessarily need to wash your apron after every shift."

The entire staff wears chino-style trousers from Medanta's Chef collection. The slim and stretchy trousers are equally suitable for the gym and the kitchen.

“I especially like that the pants have a small elastic band at the waist. We do a lot of squatting in the kitchen. Thanks to the elastic, we don't have to keep lifting the pants,” says Korsiala.

Always clean on top

At Brasa, all clothes are washed in the laundry. A load of laundry leaves the restaurant three times a week. Each employee has 3–4 sets of clothes.

“It depends a bit on who messes up how much,” Lukkarinen laughs and looks at Korsiala's shirt sleeve. It has already taken a small hit as Korsiala lifts fish from the raw cooking cabinet.

The Kaappi is Brasa's specialty. In addition to fish, they cook various meats, poultry and lamb there. Everything is of course prepared over an open fire, which gives a delicious aroma to the food and even the drinks. The drinks use chilies that have been roasted over the fire.

Restaurant Brasa

• Aleksanterinkatu 22, Helsinki. Opened in early April 2022.
• Special feature: a large open fire grill that gives the food a wonderful aroma.
• The restaurant has 108 seats. Almost 300 when the terraces open.
• Part of the Olo Collection restaurants. Olo, Emo, Ego, Särkänlinna, Garden by Olo and Villa Störsvik collaborate with Medanta.