At seven, he cooked his first full meal from start to finish (spaghetti and meatballs for the family) “it took me a whole hour to peel and chop the garlic” recollects Dino. Dino’s love, and passion for food eventually led him to the Culinary Institute of America, where in 1994 he became the first St Maarten born son to ever graduate from the world renowned culinary school. He accepted a position at the then Sheraton Port de Plaisance, as a line cook (many people remember Dino flipping omelettes at Sunday brunch) and worked his way up to Chef de Partie learning, as he went the many lessons of managing a kitchen in the Caribbean.

In 1995, after hurricane Luis hit the island and closed the hotel, Dino went back to the CIA and completed his Bachelor’s degree. A rare opportunity to do a stage at the famed L’espinasse at the St Regis Hotel with Chef Grey Kunz ended after 10 minutes after Dino showed up to work with a dirty apron.

It was of his experience, working under Chef Mark Harris at the 5 Star Le Meridien Waldorf in London, that he says “this is where I really learned to cook”. In 2002, Dino returned to St Maarten to pursue his life-long dream of opening his own restaurant and Temptation was born. In its first few years, Temptation sky-rocketed to the top of the island’s dynamic dining scene, winning “restaurant of the year” by the Gault Millau Guide 3 yrs in a row 06,07,and 08, and also scoring 16 points by the same Gault Millau Guide. (Side note: there is no restaurant in Europe that has 16 points from Gault Millau and doesn’t also have atleast 1 Michelin star. Aka 16 pts from Gault Millau is the equivalent of 1 Michelin star) In Feb 2005 Bon Appetit Magazine called Temptation “one of the top 10 new restaurants in the Caribbean” Dino has also been featured in National Geographic Traveller, Caribbean Travel and Life, Islands, American Way, and Hemispheres magazines, as well as The Miami Herald, and Washington Times newspapers Other awards include 2 time gold medal winner at the Taste of Caribbean competition in Miami FL 2005-2006. In 2005 Rare Steakhouse followed, and became the 1st Steakhouse in the Caribbean to offer Dry Aged CAB PRIME Steaks. The most recent feather in the cap for Dino was being selected by Certified Angus Beef LLC to participate as a chef for their 30th Anniversary celebrations at the James Beard House in NYC. Dino was chosen from over 7500 licensed CAB partners around the world, and is the only chef residing outside the United States who participated at the Great Steak Celebration.

Through his culinary exploration and creative approach, Dino coined the phrase Nouveau Caribbean and has labeled his cuisine “freestyle”. His cooking is a truthful reflection of the man behind the stove – inventive, adventurous and fun! When Dino is not busy seducing palates, he enjoys tennis, baseball, the gym, and spending time flipping the pages of many food magazines whilst dreaming up the next