SIX years ago, Callee Frith returned to Bermuda following an 11-year absence. After working her way up the ladder in the Key West, Florida hospitality industry, Callee, 40, found herself out of work after a management turnover.

"I was furious," Callee admitted. "I was young, gullible, and trusting, and it was just crushing. I wasn't particularly happy there any more, and decided to give Bermuda another try."

Callee had left Bermuda in 1985 to travel and study.

"I'd gone to university and worked here on the island, at Rum Runners, slinging drinks over the bar. I had always liked the hospitality industry; working with people always suited me."

Returning home after living in the US was a natural choice for Callee, the single mother of a young son.

"I knew if I moved back to Bermuda that I could make my own way," she explained. "I had a huge family to support me on both sides, and the networking aspect was huge for me. My mother's an Outerbridge and my father's a Frith, so there's a lot of history. You don't get much more Bermudian than that! It pretty much links you to every other family on the island."

It didn't take long for Callee to re-acclimatise to island life: she began to make her mark on Bermuda's hospitality industry only a month after her arrival.

"I started operating CalleeBash Catering on my birthday in 1997," she explained. "A month after I arrived here, a friend of mine asked me to cater a rather big party."

"I'd never done it before - I wasn't a caterer per se - and I did it! I did a lot of the cooking myself, brought in some local chefs and got some contacts, and we cooked up a storm, and that was it. It was no flash in the pan - that's a nice little pun!"

Callee worked from home, catering functions from four-person dinners to large gala events out of her second kitchen. CalleeBash Catering was an overwhelming success from the start, despite lacking a suitable catering van.

"I used my grandmother's little Subaru hatchback, it was hilarious!" Callee laughed. "When I look back, I can't even imagine the parties I did out of that car. We did a party for 600 people at the Corporation of Hamilton for their 100th anniversary, all out of the back of this little hatchback! Where there's a will, there's a way, for sure."

Callee continued: "I kept it small because I had a nice thing going. I had good hours, the money was decent, and I could see my son because I worked from home. Then all of a sudden all this competition started to spring up."

Uncertain as to whether she should expand her business in order to compete with other catering companies, Callee had to re-evaluate her situation. "

I wasn't sure if it was really in my heart what I wanted to do," she said. "In order to compete with these other businesses I would have to really go to the bank and get money. Then you're talking about overhead, and that's a whole other ball of wax."

Luckily, just as Callee was having doubts as to the future of CalleeBash Catering, Total Fitness Centre offered her a management position. "It was really a fluke. Through a friend mentioning me to the owners of Total Fitness and Prince Deli & Bakery, I was interviewed and they hired me," she explained. "Originally, they had wanted me to revamp the Deli, but when I came in and showed them my CV and they saw all my managerial experience, they asked me if I'd be interested in running the whole kit and caboodle."

Two years on, Callee is the general manager of both Total Fitness and Prince Deli & Bakery. However, her catering company enjoys more success than ever, thanks to Callee's agreement with her new employers.

"What was important to me was that CalleeBash Catering didn't just fall by the wayside," she explained.

"The agreement that I made with the owners was that I would use my contacts from CalleeBash Catering to boost the income of Prince Deli & Bakery, and vice versa. That's pretty much how it came to be what it is today."

"CalleeBash Catering is my baby. It's Callee, it's a Bash, and it's fun. I like the play on words," she laughed. She was quick to add: "It's really only a name; all of the food comes out of Prince Deli & Bakery, but I provide the transportation and the equipment."

"It's a really nice marriage. I'm very comfortable with the arrangement with my boss, Dr. Clarence James. We're like the odd couple - I run the place and he is the onlooker and the wise sage."

CALLEE had never run a gym before, although she admits to being "a huge health and lifestyle buff". Although taking the reins at Total Fitness wasn't easy, the 40-strong staff helped Callee to adjust to her new position. Even today, with two years' experience under her belt, Callee credits her staff for her success.

"We support each other; it's a real give-give situation," she said. "It's just been an amazing two years for me, learning new things that I never knew I'd need. What I've found at Total Fitness is a home of incredible people. I never expected this amazing staff that came along with the deal. I have just about fallen in love with every single person that works there."

She went on: "I'm so connected with people; we have so many different walks of life coming in and out of the gym, and it has just been such an amazing way for me to connect back to Bermuda in a way that I wasn't connecting when I was just doing the catering. It's literally hands-on, you're in there all day long.

"It's a lot more than that though," she added. "What I love now is that CalleeBash Catering still has the name, and I'm very proud of the food we produce."

Callee excitedly described her plans for the future of the Total Fitness Centre. "We have some great plans. We've already put changes into motion over the past two years that the gym just hadn't seen in so long," she said. "We have a physiotherapy department and a little beauty spa. We have great equipment but we'll be bringing in some more programmes."

"Already we have a Mother Well programme, which is a pre- and ante-natal programme for women," Callee explained. "It's certified, accredited, and OBGYN recommended. We're slowly moving into an area no one else has really encompassed.

"We do baby massage, and baby yoga. We also have a playgroup once a week, where mothers can bring their small children in. We care for the babies while the women work out."

Callee proudly described the state-of-the-art equipment found at Total Fitness: "We have the only licensed spin room on the island, with Schwinn spin bikes. We have a fabulous programme; it's been so over-the-top successful."

She divulged that the gym will soon unveil a new programme, but was unforthcoming with details because of competition in the Bermuda health club scene.

"It's absolutely sweeping the world, and we're so excited about bringing it in. Hopefully, we'll be ready to introduce it in the early fall. It's going to be phenomenal. We have so many interesting things going on."

While Callee promotes fitness and health, her emphasis is on lifestyle change rather than crash dieting.

"It's not just about coming to the gym and finding yourself in excruciating pain," she said.

"We want to show people how to enjoy their new lifestyle, and not feel like you have to kill yourself. We don't want it to become another chore, or a failure. We want people to achieve attainable goals, step by step. Inch by inch, literally."

CALLEE is passionate about yoga, and likes to promote the spiritual art as widely as possible. "Yoga is my main way of getting exercise," she explained. "But it's not just about the exercise. I do not want to deny the spiritual side of it. Mind, body, spirit - the real yoga."

Callee hosts twice-weekly yoga classes taught by two Total Fitness instructors at her waterside home at Salt Kettle.

"We do it outside on the sunset porch. As we finish, the sun is setting and the moon is rising," she said. "It's just incredible, with the view that we have here. People really just bliss out. It's powerful, spiritual, gorgeous, and peaceful - however, it warps and grooves with who you are."

Originally unsure whether she could balance managing the gym and deli with her catering business, Callee now thrives on her busy schedule. "I just sort of let it flow. I try not to ever project too much into a situation.

"I try to live my life moment by moment. As a result, I am a stress-free, happy individual - who does need a vacation now and then! I am human," she laughed. "But I love my life, I love my job, and I have a fabulous staff who step up to the wicket every single time. I have never been disappointed, and never expect to be."

Callee hails from an incredibly creative family, including her father, Michael Frith, co-creator of the Muppets, and her first cousin Heather Nova, an internationally renowned singer. In her spare time, Callee puts her talented genes to work by singing with top local band The Kennel Boys.