was born in Brussels, Belgium, and speaks Dutch, French, English and German. He attended the Provincial Higher Institute in Antwerp, Belgium, and has been cultivating and perfecting his culinary skills since 1982. To complete his training after the Institute, Dirk spent six years in restaurants and pastry shops, primarily in Belgium. After spending 15 months working on cruise ships, Dirk turned to privately owned yachts, where he enjoys catering to his guests on a more individual and sophisticated level. One of Dirk’s greatest accomplishments to date, and certainly one of which he is most proud, is his newly published cookbook, Charting Culinary Courses. This beautiful, full-color production features many of the culinary delights savored on board Cakewalk. When he is not in the galley, Dirk enjoys the cinema, soccer and traveling to his favorite place — the Mediterranean coast.