JET & Vermaat| Plant-Based Catering

Vermaat runs the catering for the Just Eat Takeaway office in Amsterdam, serving lunch to more than 400 people each day. The goal was to make plant-based catering a core part of their weekly menu, with 70% of dishes fully plant-based, while keeping service smooth and recipes suited to the kitchen’s workflow.

The result was a set of nine new dishes and six refreshed favourites, all planned with prep time, peak-hour service, equipment, ingredient sourcing, and cost in mind. Some of the dishes included Indian pakora toast with tangy celeriac and carrot slaw, a bagel with piccalilli cream cheese spread and sausage, and a Thai curry that had people queuing for seconds. The head chef was so impressed he couldn’t pick a favourite. When I visited after the project was complete, I watched every fennel sausage pinsa disappear from the counter, one after another, until there wasn’t a single slice left.

The menu made the most of seasonal produce and cross-used ingredients across multiple dishes, keeping them cost-efficient without losing creativity. This project showed how plant-based catering can work at scale in a busy kitchen, creating dishes that are practical for the team and worth coming back for.