MOVE over St. Bart’s, Grand Cayman is really for your close-up — just like Hulu reality star and restaurateur Frank Schilling.
Perhaps the real highlight of the Hulu show Grand Cayman: Secrets in Paradise, however, is its hotspot, Mykonoswhere Schilling talks about serving the stars and other big spenders with The US Sun.
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BIG SPENDERS
“We’ve had people come in and drink us Mouton Rothschild wine – they’ll get a full case that costs about $4,000 a bottle,” he told The US Sun.
His team also received large extra portions of money.
“Our servers in Mykonos sometimes get that mega tip – like a four-figure tip or something,” he said.
Of course, they also serve their own brand of luxury Greek sparkling rose, Aphrodisio.
Read more on the Cayman Islands
Aphrodise is made with some of the oldest grape varieties in the world – perfect for serving your A-list guests who can regularly be seen at celebrity venues.
Schilling hosted everyone from Iggy Pop to Armie Hammer, as well as FloRida, Fat Joe, Selita Ebanks, Sam Blacky, Rico Rolando and many other big names.
If you watch the show, you might also notice him stopping the drama – not starting it.
LESS RAVE, MORE RELAXED
And don’t expect a big night scene or big parties, according to Schilling — this is so St. Barts.
“It’s not a crazy party scene. It’s more meetings in someone’s home or in the owner’s kind of space in someone’s building,” he said.
Or, of course, spend a night in Mykonos.
“You get a lot of people overnight – people who have a house or are staying in one of the hotels and they come in, have fun and leave,” he said.
The businessman also recently sold his 130-acre hillside estate – yes, an entire hillside – which is known as one of the largest and most exclusive properties on Malibu’s Pacific Coast Highway, via auction.
STARS BY THE DOZEN
Looks like he left some famous neighbors for even more famous neighbors on Grand Cayman.
“I say it’s a strange crossroads of the world where you’ll see people you wouldn’t see anywhere else,” he said.
You won’t see people bothering anyone for an autograph. It’s a little more subdued here.
Frank Schilling
“Just walking along the beach for a morning walk, I once counted about five or six billionaires on my hands,” he continued.
“They stay alone here. Most don’t even come with security. It’s a small and unusual dynamic of security and anonymity.
“They are in flip-flops, relaxed and very calm, Taylor Swift, captains of industries, actors, models, racing drivers, people who make things happen in the world.
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“You won’t see people bothering anyone for an autograph.
“It’s a little more subdued here. Everyone is here, but there is less external extravagance.
“We don’t have that crowd of yachts.”
SAVE THAT MONEY
German-born Schilling, who grew up in Canada, told how he was first drawn to the island by the money-saving advantages.
“There are some taxes, but they are much, much lower if you actually live here,” he said.
It’s our little utopia and we have excellent healthcare.
Frank Schilling
“It was cool for me to sell my business and move and resettle here and rebuild my business,” he added.
“It’s a lot different than it was in the 80s, when people came here to avoid taxes or something like that. Now everything is an open book.
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“There’s a big financial services industry here.
“There are accountants, lawyers, actuaries, financial experts – everyone chooses to live here because they get tax advantages for themselves and their families.
“It’s our little utopia and we have excellent health care.”
BIG CHANGES
The show, which features local residents as well as expats, also portrays the island as its own character.
He’s also seen how much that island has transformed into a laid-back yet luxurious place in the 22 years since he arrived on the Greater Grand Cayman scene.
“It’s really transformed – we still have a few wild chickens running around, but most of the buildings are new,” he said.
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“It’s like Monaco and Orange County, California, had a baby and everyone was driving a new car,” he said.
He may have been a spectacle when he arrived at the scene in a flashy Mercedes, but a fancy car is no longer an anomaly.
“Now it’s like you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting something good,” he said.
Still, he likes that even with all its wealth the island doesn’t have an air of pretension.
“I would say that Cayman is a really healthy place, which might seem counterintuitive because it has always seemed a little intimidating from everything you hear in the movies,” he said.
He also likes how the island is still a bit rugged, meaning its landscape isn’t perfectly manicured like some of its “fancier” counterparts.
He has his own project in the works – a port.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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