The man behind Daniel's By the Sea, Mr. Busby's Beach Bar, and Penthouse Paradise is Daniel Jurczenko.

If you've been visiting St. Maarten for any length of time, you'll quickly realize how Daniel wound up in the restaurant business. And chances are, you've already visited one of his gastronomic emporiums here in St. Maarten.

His dad, Antoine, was maitre d' at the Eden Rock cap d'Antibes for more than 15 years, and was already world renowned when he moved on to the Ivory Coast Hotel in South Africa, Chanteclaire Hotel in Montreal St Edel, the acclaimed Waterlot Inn in Bermuda, Liford Key Club in the Bahamas, and ultimately La Samanna in French St. Martin.

Daniel's mother worked in tandem with Antoine as executive housekeeper at large hotels/resorts such as the Southampton Princess in Bermuda and at the legendary La Samanna resort on French St. Martin.

In 1978, the couple opened their first restaurant, Antoine, on Front Street in Philipsburg, serving classic French Cuisine to aficionados of gourmet cuisine from everywhere. Antoine quickly became one of the most highly regarded of Caribbean restaurants.

"Antoine is where I started professionally, 24 years ago at age 16 as a dishwasher, cleaner, then assistant chef, and later chef for a few years. I always preferred dining room contact with guests so I moved on to become bartender, waiter, and finally maitre d'," Daniel explains.

"In 1985 we opened a second restaurant on Front Street called the Red Snapper serving French cuisine as well. I managed the Red Snapper for a few years , which is where I met my wife who was from New York. I went to New York for five years and managed the famous specialty / catering store the Silver Palate, then worked in an Italian restaurant for three years where I learned Italian cuisine.

"In 1995, the year category five Hurricane Luis hit St. Maarten, I returned, and I took over Da Livio Restaurant in 1996 and left in May, 2005. My intent in buying Daniel's / Mr. Busby's was to bring something entirely new to the Dawn Beach / Oyster Pond area, which is becoming the hottest spot on the island.

"In 2000 I took over Mr. Busby's Beach Bar, where we currently serve breakfast and lunch. In 2005, I brought my entire crew in from Da Livio to serve dinner at what is now 'Daniel's By The Sea.'

"Despite the fact that Daniel's was just launched in the summer of 2005, we are already getting fantastic reviews."

Mr. Busby's is now open for breakfast from 7.30 am to 11 am, lunch is 11 to 6 pm, and dinner at Daniel's - at the exact same location, just a different name and different staff for dinner - is 6 pm to 10 pm daily.

"You won't find anything like Mr. Busby's and Daniel's anywhere else in the Caribbean," Daniel promises. "The surroundings are purely tropical, but we're all about enjoying the moment and giving everyone who comes here some great St. Maarten dining memories."

-- Daniel Jurczenko