After reading numerous internet search results, I have out that Self-employed work permit is the way to go, if I decided to stay and work in Belize.
I am a Certified Management Accountant, Project Manager, MBA and Information System consultant and a part time college instructor. (I applied to U of Belize, they did nto get back to me yet.)

As well, I have a B.Sc. in Agriculture in food Science and love to cook. Worked in restaurants and hotels to support my education.

Do you think that I should open:
1) An accounting, Business Service consulting company? Is there demand in Belize?
Or
2) A restaurant? When I was in CC on vacation, I found that the restaurants are not very good at all, i.e. everybody has grilled lobster (dry and usually cooked too well done). There were no Sushi restaurant.... I had a Sushi dish at CC, it cost me $30US and it was bought and resold.

Depends on how much money you want to loose.

Found that the restaurants on CC were not very good at all? Man, your standards are way bizarre! I had an absolutely great grilled lobster meal at Rose's on Saturday...for $25 BZE! Give your head a shake...

We were at Rose's around Christmas. The whole CC was low on food. A few restaurants ran out of lobsters as well as other food. I tried to buy some eggs and they were out. Rose's also was low on food, so they quietly reduce the size of the dish. We waited for at least 30 mins to get to order, at least an hour before we get to eat. By that time, we were so hungry that we lost our appetite. Noting "Newfoundlanders are the only people in heaven who want to go home." I have eaten many Atlantic lobsters and every year we have lobster feast flow in from the east coast.
I have to admit... I like my lobster cooked whole and I crack it open myself. I don't think Newfoundlanders grill their lobsters.

I am not from Newfoundland. People are nice and happy there. But, no job. Cold, wet winter. Windy summer.
Lobster is best cooked steamed with seaweed and the juice preserved. At CC. some serve lobsters with coconut sauce to overcome the dryness of grilled lobster.

It depends on your taste. Belizeans love to grill! Also, our local lobster is not of the same texture as the 'Maine' style lobsters. As an artist (chef) I'm sure you understand that it is all about taste. If you go to Caye Caulker during Lobster Fest, you will see Belizean lobster cooked in every possible way! It's wonderful. If you're interested, here is a short video we did a couple of years ago at Caye Caulker Lobster Fest -- Rock Lobster

As for your other questions. It seems that any bar you walk into in Belize will have several 'consultants' willing to help. The restaurant business is really tough here and not that many people succeed. Those that do have no personal life whatsoever and work outrageous hours with very little recompense. Unless you can afford to do it as a hobby of course!

Thanks... I know restaurant business is hard.... when I was at CC. I saw the cook from the Indian restaurant walked out and the restaurant had to close. It opened just a couple months ago.

I would open up an accounting and business service company. Like Young's internet cafe but specialized in accounting and bookkeeping. May be I would open a little restaurant like the Italian restaurant that has 2 tables for forgot about the name of it.... as a hobby. I would volunteer at Ocean Academy, compost and grow fruits and vegetables. After all I am going to retire in CC, but simply not working would be hard.

There's a guy in Hopkins who is a serious foody and runs a restaurant there at Beaches and Dreams. His name is Tony. You might find him an interesting guy to connect with. Here's his blog Chef in Belize Blog

Really appreciate your link...
Yup.... This guy got it right... He is making good $.
I definitely follow his BLOG... Foodies would pay a lot.... as long as the food is good... freshly garden vegetables, fresh seafood, paired with wine....
Another problem is that wine is very expensive in Belize.
If I have restaurant, I would ask all my friends to buy up to the 6 bottle limit of wine at the duty free store and bring them in for me...

And then lose your license for serving un-customed product

Oh.... You have a point here...

Getting a work permit on Caye Caulker means having to get a letter of endorsement from the Caye Caulker Village Council saying that you would be a desirable member of the community.
If you are retired and don't need to work, why don't you just volunteer to teach cooking at the high school? That way you could help solve the problem of bad cooking on the Caye without taking business away from the already-struggling businesses. Caye Caulker is a small pie being chopped into smaller pieces.

You would need a volunteer permit for that. Technically you need a permit for any kind of work, paid or unpaid.

Yup.... I am planning to volunteer to teach business and may be public speaking (Toastmaster) at Ocean Academy. I am more of a foodie than a cook. Restaurant business is easy to criticize hard to do. I would think that volunteer work permit should be easy to get. But based on my research "Self-Employ" work permit is easiest. All I have to do is to show them the business idea, show them I have $. Because I am an accountant, consultant and a part time college instructor, I would setup a Business Service Business to apply for the Self Employ work permit.

You may find that volunteer permits are not easy to get. I was told by immigration at the time, when I was trying to get one, that they did not issue them at all in San Pedro. I think they would only do it for visitors here for a short time sponsored by a recognised organisation. They said that volunteer work permits had been abused by some.

You dont just get a self employed work permit. You have to have a single occupation..like accountant, restaurant owner etc. They no longer give out work permits that are vague like businessman/woman.
You can only bring in 2 bottles of wine not 6 and only if you fly in, not if you are coming from boarder towns by land, then you have to pay 60% duty. Although with a smile and a confused look I have always managed to bring wine back from Mulcher.
Belizeans love to grill...
The word Bar-be-que actually came from a garifuna word Barbicot....
and yes, the government is really cracking down on volunteer permits almost rejecting all medical, veterinary teams now that want to come in. We have been working on bringing in The World Vets team for awhile now.

I am a Certified Management Accountant. I can sign and audit financial statement in Canada. I teach business and MBA program.
When I was in CC, I walked by Young's Internet Cafe, it seems to be the only Business Service Company in CC (At least according to the directory). It does printing, DVD burning, flyers.... etc....

I can do books for people and may be teach people how to run their business better. I am seeing no market differentiation, no strategy, diversification... People may be able to drastically increase their profitability by giving what people want, e.g. I was dying to have stir fried couch with mango jerke sauce... went to the restaurant and they don't have it.... but it was on the board... Everydody grills lobster and fish.... But nobody does sushi, noting that a lot of the tourists are yuppies... and they like Sushi... etc....

Folks have come here with grand ideas, yours is a good, well meant one I am sure. Look at the Driftwood Lodge. This is a backpackers island and most of us want it to stay that way. It is why we are here. Its not the restaurants fault they dont have all items on the menu. You cant make a shopping list here and go shopping. You have to go shopping and then figure your meals out. Its the charm of the place, the unpredictability of it all. The simplicity of it all..and yes when dealing with the Government you have to have a very large sense of humor and patience. About a year ago a business set up here from San Pedro, Photography, computer graphics etc. They only lasted 2 months. You have to have consumers, Our few upscale restaurants have lasted many years, new ones have not. Please dont think I am slamming you but as I hear time and time again. Plan to spend a full year living here before you make plans to pursue a life change, those that do usually do much better than those that dont. You really need to know the players before you can play. We started our business here and operated it from the States for several years getting our residency etc set up. That took a meeting with the Director of Immigration as we were not really living here. No bribes,no attorneys but we already had an established business and were promoting Belizeans.
My husband has a B.A, in Business Science..he got over the frustration of promoting that in Belize years ago..but he did suffer...

I would suggest that you come during hurricane season to see the real Caye Caulker so you can compare it to what you saw during the 2 busiest weeks of the year. And I'm not being facetious when I say this. I agree with everything Debbie said. Also, to start out wanting to beat out Customs on import duty for liquor, and then announcing it on the internet isn't a very smart move. Just sayin.

Tank you for the great advices....
Yes... I like the place and the people in CC....
Yes... I need to be in CC for a full year to fully appreciate the life style (both pros and cons).....
Yes... Need to better understand the government to best live in Belize...
Yes... CC and Belize are not for everybody....
Yes... I am going to do more research, more planning.... etc... I am planning to organize another trip to CC later this year. Hopefully bring 4 - 6 people and spend a week or so in Dec. Yes... It is NOT during the hurricane season. But it would be one of my many trips...