Forget the rumours. The pretty face behind the meat and fish counters at Miles Market is not a butcher. By the same token, she is also not "the only female butcher on the Island'', as some would have it.

Rather, Karen Martin's official title at the up-market e mpicerie is: Food Counter Retail Chef, and while that may sound like the product of a marketing guru's fertile imagination, it does in fact describe to a T-bone exactly what the personable young woman is all about.

As a trained chef who gained her prestigious City & Guilds qualifications at Cassio College in Watford, England, Mrs. Martin naturally has a working knowledge of the products she deals with, and while she has also learned "an awful lot more'' from her present colleagues, she does not swing a cleaver at whole carcasses.

"We don't have to deal with whole sides of meat here,'' she explains. "It all comes cut down off the bone when we receive it, although I do cut up large sections into smaller pieces,'' she explains.

Instead, when serving her customers in the smart Miles "uniform'' of black trousers, crisp white shirt, and vegetable-motif tie, Mrs. Martin uses her professional training and catering experience to assist them with a wide range of culinary concerns -- everything from what to have for a quick-fix dinner, to the menu for an elegant dinner party; the best cuts for a particular dish, how to store lobsters and shellfish at home, and of course the most-asked question of all, "How do I cook it?'' "Personal service is not only very important, but also encouraged here,'' she says. "That is what we strive for all the time.'' Behind the scenes, Mrs. Martin, like her colleagues, prepares sauces, marinades and stuffings, dresses meats, and prepares ready-to-cook items, such as beef, lamb and pork patties, kebabs, and stuffed roasts.

"People are very busy today and want to have these things done for them,'' she explains. "They want something they can take home, pop in the oven, and eat. Most people are looking for ease of life -- I am myself, so this part of the business is very popular.'' Thanks to her catering experience, Mrs. Martin also has the skills to develop attractive counter displays which, of course, are an important part of any retail business. Certainly, the displays at Miles are hard to resist.

Growing up with her brother, in St. Alban's, Hertfordshire, young Karen enjoyed delicious meals cooked by their mother, and to some extent this influenced her ultimate decision to become a chef.

"Mother was a school `dinner lady' originally, but eventually she took a proper training course, and became a cook,'' Mrs. Martin recalls. "We always had wonderful meals, but when I left school I became a waitress, graduated to working in the kitchen, and then to cooking. My boss decided I wouldn't get very far in life with those `qualifications,' and paid for me to sit my City & Guilds exams as a chef. I did a three-year, day release programme.'' When she married and became a mother, Mrs. Martin put aside her career as a chef to assist at a play school because the hours coincided with her children's school schedules.

Much later, as a divorce me, she met Graham -- the man who would bring new romance and a complete change of lifestyle to her world. When he took a job in Bermuda, she and her children twice spent idyllic summer holidays in the sunshine here before the couple married in December last year. They now live in St. George's where the children, Lucy (11) and Christopher (nine), attend St. George's Preparatory School.

Although she is on her feet all day, and confesses that when she returns home in the evenings she is often so tired that all she wants to do is put her feet up, Mrs. Martin insists on playing an active role in her children's school lives.

"I try to be involved in the children's school life as much as I can, and I am vice-president of the PTA,'' she says.

Fortunately, she is blessed with a supportive husband who cooks, and an understanding employer.

"Graham is a darling, and Miles is a great company to work for. They are very, very accommodating about their staff's family lives. They always stress, `If you are happy in your personal life then you will be happy in your work'.

It certainly makes life easier,'' Mrs. Martin says.

The charming chef also enjoys a great rapport with her colleagues, whom she confesses have been good-naturedly ribbing her about giving this interview.

"There's a great atmosphere here,'' she assures.

While leisure time is limited (she works until 7 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays), Mrs. Martin enjoys walking, and did the End to End charity walk this year. Mostly, however, she spends time at the beach with her family, and marvels at how safe Bermuda is compared to her native Britain.

"The children are much more independent here, and can walk to the after-school programme at the St. George's Community Centre,'' she says. "In Britain now you don't let them out of your sight.'' Asked what she particularly likes about Bermuda cuisine, Mrs. Martin mentions tuna and wahoo, and adds: "The fish here is very fresh and lovely.'' As for her favourite meal, her dark eyes twinkle as she exclaims: "The one that somebody else cooks!'' While she finds no major differences between grocery shopping in Britain and Bermuda, Mrs. Martin says that, like many of her compatriots, she questions the so-called "freshness'' of fruit and vegetables here, noting that while produce seems fresh when purchased, it has a much shorter shelf life than in Britain.

Given Bermuda's climate, the food counter retail chef is also puzzled as to why shoppers don't make more use of insulated bags or containers to transport perishables, such as meat, poultry, fish and frozen products, particularly in hot weather.

These points aside, she loves the Island, and says of her job: "I am very happy doing what I am doing. They have made me very welcome here.''