Three hungry sea bathing Carnival tourists stand before her and with distinct British accents they ask: "Can we get three shark and bake, please?" She smiles, responding with a soft-spoken, "Of course." Within seconds three pieces of seasoned shark hit the blazing oil (which is being kept hot on the fire) and she massages the dough for the bake. The three Brits wait eagerly for her sumptuous concoction. They sit and soak up the aroma and a popular Machel Montano tune which is blasting from her radio.

Yes indeed, it's just another day for Tracey Whiskey working and managing Patsy's Bake and Shark at Maracas Bay. After the men receive and bite into their bake and shark, one of them admits- "Okay, what the Internet says about Trinidad is true- nothing better than Carnival and shark and bake at the beach!" "Not just any shark and bake mate, this one's from Patsy's," the other tourist says in a comical tone.

Whiskey sighs shyly as everyone else burst into stitches. I use this as my opener to ask her about Patsy. "Patsy is my mother. She started this stall 30 years ago, I began working here when I was11," Whiskey informs. Her husband, a former fisherman stands close by and tends to their 5-year-old twin boys who also sink their teeth into their mother's culinary combination. I observe another customer purchasing a bake and king fish. "Bake and Kish is part of your menu?" I query once more. The short dougla dame realises now that I am seriously interested in learning more about her products and takes the opportunity to share her joys of selling sea food and her love for the sea.

She recalls, "I grew up in Maracas but I live in Las Cuevas now. Girl, when I was small my sisters and I used to command the sea. We were like mermaids, real sea babies. We used to go out to sea and jump on the boat when the fishermen in the village were going to fish. We had no fear for the water." Two of her workers give approving nods. They are also from the close-knit Maracas community and know that Tracey is a "big fish", "I could swim well. Not many people or women brave the sometimes fierce waters of Maracas but I know it very well so I can swim here," she adds.

I can't help but bring the conversation back to bake and shark as the tempting tang of shrimp infiltrates the sea breeze and soca music. "People say is catfish you all serve and not shark, any comments?" I inquire. "The amicable expression on Whiskey's face disappears and she gives me a matter-of-fact look. "This is a bake and shark stall not a bake and catfish stall. We serve real shark here!" Photographer Micheal Bruce can't wait to test her theory and quickly calls down for a hot bake and shark loaded with Patsy's signature mango chutney and tamarind sauce. Within seconds he not only dispels the catfish rumour but he compliments the taste and flavour. "You see what I tell you, people only talking stupidness," Whiskey avows. "I have so much experience in this business that when people say these things I just laugh." Her husband then takes this as a cue to interject, "Tell them about your sailing escapades, like the time we went Tobago in a pirogue." The 32-year-old shark expert starts to giggle at the memory. "I went to Tobago once for Great Race with my husband and 17 other people in a small pirogue. It was real good but gutsy. Sometimes we go from Maracas to Toco and even Matelot for St Peter's Day. We always joyriding on the sea, it's our hobby and our way of life," she declares. So with shark, king fish and shrimp on her menu, does the sea loving mother of three (she also has a 12-year-old daughter in addition to her twin boys) throw a rod and actually fish in the seas she adores? "You asking answers. Of course I do. I catch a king fish once A La Vive!" A La Vive? I am confused by the French reference. Everyone in the stall (Whiskey, her husband and her workers) laugh understandingly. They obviously know this term which has me clueless. "A la Vive is when you fish with live bait. You have to put the live bait on the hook, throw the line then wait for the line to pull then you reel in your big catch," Whiskey explains. I ponder on the new term I have learned and marvel that something which is so commonplace for some can be a mystery to others. But in as much as Whisky loves fishing and discovering new marine frontiers, her schedule has been very hectic for the Carnival 2012 season as is every year. Patsy's Bake and Shark has been a regular feature at Carnival fetes for almost five years now. From Kiddies Calypso Tents to mas band Tribe's Thursday Ignite Fete to several other All-Inclusive fetes, their signature shark and mango chutney adds the spice to the revelry indeed. And, what a better combination for Whiskey- a sweet hand which she has mastered and a time of the year she craves and lives for.

Incidentally, for this interview Whiskey was still recovering from her amazing Rama fete experience which kicked off last weekend. "I had a great time, it was the best ever, I love my fetes and my Carnival," she divulges. She doesn't intend to do much feteing though on Carnival Monday and Tuesday as its all work and no play for Patsy's for Chocolate City's Jouvert band on the road. No doubt when the final curtain closes on Carnival celebrations, Whiskey will return to her regular schedule of parading the high seas, fishing occasionally, taking a swim in torrential currents but most of all feeding hungry sea bathers both tourists and local and continuously proving the hypothesis that Maracas bake and shark (at Patsy's, according to the Brits) is a distinguished tourist attraction in Trinidad and Tobago.