Willem Berkhoff

Who was Willem Berkhoff?

Willem Berkhoff was a pastry chef who became the first Chairman of the Board of Directors of the first Dutch Vocational School for Pastry Chefs, established in 1924 in Amsterdam and since 1956 named "De Berkhoff". Berkhoff became well-known when he presented a traditional English wedding cake to Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry on the occasion of their marriage in 1901. Henceforth the wedding cake became standard issue in Dutch wedding festivities. His "Pâtisserie and Refreshment Room" in the Leidsestraat was a household word in and outside Amsterdam, for over seventyfive years.