Lovers of local food will be heading for the book stores soon as Miss Cleo's Cayman Kitchen:

Treasured Recipes from East End is scheduled to be released just before Christmas 2006.

The 208-page book featuring more than 100 recipes represents a joint effort by Caymanian companies Cayman Net Ltd and Island Fever Press Ltd.

East End Conch Stew and Spicy Conch Fritters; Turtle Stroganoff and Fish Cayman Style; Heavenly Coconut Cream Pie and Custardy Bread Pudding, are just a few of the recipes that delighted Miss Cleo Conolly's dinner guests at Grand Cayman's Tortuga Club for over 30 years.

Now the renowned 81-year-old East End chef has fulfilled her dream of creating a cookbook that preserves many of those treasured recipes for friends old and new to enjoy.

"We are delighted to launch our new book-publishing division with a work that preserves a piece of Cayman's culinary heritage," said Desmond Seales, CEO of Cayman Net Ltd. "As a new author, Miss Cleo has given our diverse community a true gift this year. This will be a wonderful Christmas gift to share. We have been approached time and again to assist local authors with advice on editing, production and marketing of their book projects. Until now, we have been focusing mainly on our 12 titles, which make up our publishing company," added Mr. Seales.

 "With the streamlining of our production facilities through the investment in upgraded computer systems and an experienced staff, we are now in a better position to undertake new book-publishing projects, including the marketing of titles."

Cayman Net News has naturally progressed into the book publishing market as Cayman's most prodigious publisher, with a history dating back to the Nor'wester, the country's first news magazine.

The company previously published two acclaimed coffee table books, Portraits of Majesty and The Year of Our Celebration: The Cayman Islands Quincentennial.

Cleopatra Conolly was born in East End in 1925 and has lived there her entire life. She took her first job outside of home at age 39, in the kitchen of the original Tortuga Club resort- and it became a lifetime avocation.

Miss Cleo launched her career with initial training and guidance in the kitchen from Cayman tourism industry pioneer and cookbook author Suzy Soto, Tortuga Club's original owner. Miss Cleo later furthered her skills with hospitality training courses to become Cayman's first female executive chef, in charge of the resort's kitchen. Miss Cleo soon took local cooking to another level, creating some of the first "Cayman fusion" recipes and pleasing resort guests by adding her own touches to American and other foreign dishes.

Her adaptation of traditional Caymanian dishes, including turtle steak and conch stew, delighted guests - including such celebrities as HRH Prince Charles and Jacques Cousteau. Her original recipes also won several awards during the first Caribbean Hotel Association regional culinary competitions more than 20 years ago.

Miss Cleo worked for 40 years at Grand Cayman's Tortuga Club resort in East End (now Morritt's Tortuga Club) until Hurricane Ivan ravaged East End in September 2004. The storm also destroyed her 118-year old family home in Sand Bluff and all of her possessions-including her handwritten notebooks of menus and recipes and her extensive cookbook collection.

The devastating storm struck Grand Cayman only a week after the resort's owners threw Cleo a gala 40th anniversary party to celebrate her lifetime of service.

Ivan forced Miss Cleo into temporary retirement in September 2004 while the severely damaged resort was rebuilt. She used that time to work on her book with local author and Island Fever Press Ltd owner Barbara Currie Dailey. Miss Cleo spent hundreds of hours writing down from memory many of her recipes that would have otherwise been lost in the storm.

Miss Cleo was honored by Queen Elizabeth II with the prestigious Certificate and Badge of Honour for her contributions to the community and Cayman's tourism industry. This framed certificate from June 1996 was one of many awards that decorated the walls of her guest sitting room before Ivan destroyed her family home. She lost dozens of framed newspaper articles, photographs, and plaques, the testimonials to her talent and the respect she had garnered both locally and overseas.

Today, Miss Cleo has put those losses behind her and once again welcomes guests as Morritt's Tortuga Club's Hospitality Ambassador from her seat in the main lobby. But unlike her old friends who still stay in touch, many of the resort's new staff and guests don't realize that Miss Cleo is one of Cayman's culinary and tourism industry legends, a self-taught chef who cooks with common sense and claims her talents and kitchen intuition are hereditary. And now Cleopatra Conolly adds cookbook author to her list of lifetime achievements.