Bart Van Damme

Agricultural Engineer

After graduating in 1991, Bart started as Production Manager at Maître Traiteur. At this pioneer in the production of fresh lasagne and refrigerated prepared meals, Bart hit the ground running.

Along with his passion for cooking, he developed an interest for the synergy between ingredients, recipes, processes and refining the perfect flavour. He was able to expand this knowledge further at Dera (Food Technology), Kerry Ingredients and Wiberg by developing natural resource blends for the industrial production of sauces, marinades and flavours.

In early 2018, Bart started working for Flanders’ FOOD as Innovation Manager, managing ‘World Class Food Production’ projects. The central theme here is the transition of companies to ‘Industry 4.0’ and guiding them towards a Factory of the Future.

In his spare time, he enjoys playing tennis, but most of all he loves performing as an accordionist with the world famous (in and around Merelbeke that is) band ‘De Plakband’.