SEAFOOD guru Dolly Pitcher was the last to find out she had won a Bermudian Magazine Gold Award this month for her consistently delicious local fare. As she explained: "I've been so busy with my stand that I haven't had time to pick up a magazine!"

For the last few weeks, the 71-year-old St. David's Islander has been baking mussel pies and buying conch by the pound to ensure her legendary food stall is ready for Cup Match.

"You have to make the pies in advance," Dolly explained. "I should have at least 300 pies; we'll go through them easily. They go fast. People come all the way from Somerset just to buy my mussel pies."

Dolly, who sells her famous seafood at every Eastern County Cup game and at Cup Match, has been a fixture on the cricket scene for more than 50 years.

"I was about 14 years old when I started out, in St. George's for Cup Match," she said. "My father was a chef in the Governor's house.

"I took the stall over from him, and I cook from old family recipes. My most popular dishes at Cup Match are conch stew, mussel pie, and shark hash."

For the past three years, well-known local chef, TV personality, and culinary historian Joe Gibbons, 50, has worked at Dolly's side during Eastern County and Cup Match games, helping to cook and serve her celebrated dishes.

They will once again collaborate for this year's Cup Match.

As Joe explained: "Dolly does all the preparation. It's her recipe, so she cooks most of the pies. I basically just help her with the stall.

"Sometimes I have to cook, but it's steady all day. I help her with the conch stew and serve the mussel pies. You're on your feet all day."

He continued: "For seafood, Dolly's stall is absolutely the most popular every year. Several stands have conch stew now, but none as good as Dolly's. She makes up a 50-gallon pot of conch stew every day - early, because it's good for hangovers!"

Indeed, Cup Match is an exhausting time of year for Dolly, who starts each day at sunrise.

"I'm always at my stall by 7a.m.," she said. "I'm there all day; I can't leave my stall, so I sleep there too! I have to keep an eye on it; there are lots of people walking around at night."

Dolly cooks the conch for her popular stew overnight, ensuring that it's ready for the hungry hordes of cricket fans queued up at her stall each morning.

"I generally put the conch on at nine, until seven the next morning. That's how long it takes to cook," Dolly explained. "I make it fresh! No frozen stuff, I don't believe in that."

"Most of the stew is gone by about noon," said Joe. "Then, people start having fish sandwiches and mussel pie."

Dolly attributes the popularity of her seafood stand to years of cooking experience and to Joe's expert assistance.

"I've been here long enough; the food had better be good!" she laughed. "If it wasn't for Joe, I wouldn't be able to do it. My kids will never take it up - they couldn't stand it.

"It's hard work. Joe's great, and a good cook too. I like his style. We go way back."

Dolly plans to continue selling her prize-winning seafood for as long as she is able, despite her disappointment with the attitudes of many cricket fans.

"People are very rude when it gets busy, shouting about how long they've been waiting for food," she said. "It gets worse when people have been drinking. You've got to be very careful."

She continued: "I'll keep on doing this as long as I get help. As long as Joe's able! He's young. He's in charge!

"I turn everything over to him; whatever he says, goes!"

Joe is particularly enthusiastic about Dolly's famous shark hash, a uniquely Bermudian dish with a long history.

"Shark hash isn't found anywhere else in the world, and certainly not in the Caribbean," Joe explained.

CULINARY historian Joe traces the roots of shark hash back to Bermuda's early days, more than 200 years ago, when the dairy industry was practically non-existent and fish liver was a popular cooking medium.

"There are a couple of restaurants here that serve shark, but they don't use the liver," Joe said. "They use olive oil or butter, so it doesn't have the real taste of Bermuda shark hash."

Dolly uses shark liver in her hash, staying true to the recipe used by her St. David's Islander ancestors.

When asked about her St. David's heritage, Dolly revealed mixed emotions.

"I was born and raised in St. David's, and have always lived here. There's no place like home," she said. "However, the place has changed. I'm sorry that Uncle Sam left here; the old US Base looks awful."

She continued: "A lot of strange new people live down here, and they're not friendly at all. It used to be more or less all St David's Islanders; you knew your neighbours. It's like a different world now."

In the final days leading up to Cup Match, Dolly and Joe will be frantically making last-minute preparations, spending long hours readying Dolly's stall.

Dolly will not, however, let the stress affect her, and looks forward to the hectic weekend.

"That's what life is about," she said. "I'll be working and enjoying myself."