HOW A "WHIMSICAL" IDEA TURNED OUT TO BE AN "EXPORT HIT" The Cayman Islands are known as tax haven and home of the famous Gugelhupfs. Today the islanders export Rum Cakes instead of turtle soup and owe the idea to a man, a former pilot, his creativity and pure chance. Robert Hamaty grew up in Jamaica and worked at his father's sugar cane fields. He cut the stalks and delivered the product to markets and mills. Later in life, he became an airline pilot and Air Jamaica and Cayman Airways employed him for 30 years. However, said Hamaty, he never lost his love for the smell of fresh molasses. He left his airline uniform behind and today Hamaty is standing in his little factory in George Town, Grand Cayman. He wears a white protective hat for hygienic reasons and is surrounded by hundreds of deliciously smelling Rum Cakes. "We only use the best quality of Rum" said Hamaty, pointing at two oak wood barrels from where the dark, five year old alcohol runs into the cake mixture. MORE COMPANIES THAN INHABITANTS Hamaty keeps the ingredients of his cake mixture a secret. As secret as the local banks do with their database, which is very important in the Cayman Islands. The British Colony is also called "Switzerland of the Caribbean" because no taxes are applicable and companies only pay a fee to register. There are approximately 80.000 companies registered on the Islands, including 500 Insurances, 600 Banks and 2000 financial Funds. This is twice the population of the Cayman Islands. The capital, George Town, is the fifth largest finance center in the world, but only on paper. Most companies use only a P.O. Box as their address. Robert Hamaty's Tortuga Rum Company is an exception with a factory and several shops.He became very famous and successful selling his Rum Cake. Hamaty says "the alcohol diminishes during the baking process and only the delicious flavor remains". The Cayman Islands are fascinating. The area includes the Seven-Mile-Beach north of George Town and the fabulous under water world around Grand Cayman as well as the sister Islands Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands and because of the turtles, he named the Islands "Las Tortugas". For centuries, turtles were considered as their main export article to be shipped around the world...until Robert Hamaty and his Rum Cake arrived on the scene. FROM A "WHIMSICAL" IDEA TO A BIG SELLER In 1977, Hamaty moved from Jamaica to the Cayman Islands where he met his wife Carlene. They both worked for Cayman Airways. During his time as a pilot, he realized that many tourists bought duty free Rum but, unfortunately, no Rum was being produced in the Cayman Islands. There were no sugar cane fields on the Islands, but Hamaty sensed a business opportunity. In 1984, he mixed different types of Rum from Jamaica and Barbados and started to sell his name brand, Tortuga Rums of the Cayman Islands. His profit was passable and there was always enough money left for Carlene Hamaty to occasionally bake a Rum Cake for friends and family. She received many compliments and one day a local restaurant placed an order, other restaurants followed and soon Robert Hamaty started his commercial production. The Tortuga Rum Cake developed to be a big seller. Today, up to 10,000 Rum Cakes are produced daily, also under license in the Bahamas and Barbados and distributed from their office in Miami, FL as well as via the Internet around the world. RUM CAKE WITH BANANA FLAVOR At the time Hamaty started his company, George Town was a little village. No more than 10,000 people lived on the three Islands and earned their income from agriculture, fishing and catching turtles. Today, the per capita income of an Islander is higher than in the homeland Great Britain. Besides the international finance center, tourism helps the Cayman Island maintain prosperity. About two million tourists visit yearly. It is a paradise for divers and many passengers from Cruise Ships enjoy duty free shopping. In addition, Hamaty profits from the tourism. Several buses filled with tourists visit his Rum Cake factory daily to sample different brands of Rum and all the different flavored Rum Cakes. At the end, some of them, somewhat tipsy, they open their wallets to buy a sweet Souvenir..... Robert Hamaty's Rum Cake, a different Caribbean temptation.