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SMAG – our plant-based kitchen

SMAG – our shared gastronomic DNA

In 2025–2026, we at Compass Group developed our own cookbook: SMAG. Written by our own chefs, it is our foundational guide to plant-based cooking.

The book brings together the knowledge, techniques and craftsmanship that bring depth, balance and umami to vegetables, legumes and spices. It is our shared DNA for great taste – across 350 canteens throughout Denmark.

Great taste doesn’t happen by chance. It’s created.

Plant-based food only becomes a natural choice when it tastes great. That’s why we don’t start by taking things off the plate. We start with flavour – and with the ingredients.

SMAG is our answer to making plant-based cooking a natural first choice in the canteen. Not to replace meat and dairy, but to show just how much vegetables, legumes and spices can offer when the craft is right.

As a foodservice provider, we serve meals to around 100,000 people across Denmark every day. This gives us both the position and the opportunity to help shape the plate of the future – together with you.

Developed by our own chefs

SMAG was written by our own chefs, with a hands-on approach to craftsmanship and a focus on flavour. What began as a collection of recipes grew into a foundational guide – a gastronomic toolbox that gives ingredients from the plant kingdom more room to shine.

Not to replace meat and dairy, but to show just how much plant-based cooking has to offer. The book is a practical reference guide used in everyday operations – for salads, cold and hot dishes, and planning the weekly menu.

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Techniques that bring out depth of flavour

In SMAG, we work with techniques that bring out the best in every ingredient. We build flavour layer by layer, balance the fundamental tastes and add umami to vegetables, legumes, spices and plant-based proteins.

This creates a shared DNA for flavour across all our kitchens. For you as a customer, it means that the plant-based offering in your canteen is built on the same professional foundation – wherever you are in Denmark.

From cookbook to everyday dining in your canteen

A cookbook alone is not enough. That’s why we train our kitchen teams in SMAG at GLØD, our own innovation kitchen. Here, our head chefs put the techniques into practice – from building flavour layer by layer to balancing the fundamental tastes.

So far, 150 of our head chefs have completed SMAG training, and the programme is now an integral part of our onboarding for new kitchen employees. This is how we ensure that knowledge and craftsmanship don’t just sit on a shelf, but make their way onto the plate in your canteen.

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A cookbook for our canteen guests

We have also developed an edition of SMAG for our guests. It is based on the same techniques and approach to ingredients as the foundational cookbook used in our kitchens.

The book is not available in bookshops. It can only be purchased in our canteens, where guests have the opportunity to take a copy home. It is a special opportunity for those who dine with us: to bring the great flavours of lunch home to the dinner table and get inspired to create memorable taste experiences in their own kitchens.

Shall we talk about bringing more flavour to your canteen?

Would you like to learn more about our approach to plant-based cooking and what SMAG can mean for your employees? We’d be happy to have a conversation.

Contact Louise Fæster
Director of Food Sales
Tel: +45 2180 4707
Send Louise Fæster an email

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