The whirr of the blender and other noises of a busy kitchen will most likely greet any customer that steps into the Mango Leaf Cafe from the quiet alley off of Church Street.

And if you?ve been there before, you will be greeted by name by one of the two chefs busily preparing food in the kitchen that opens onto the seating area.

In fact, the place is so alive that manager and chef Michael Smith could barely stay seated for an interview with last Friday, as he was constantly jumping up to serve the customers that came in despite it being mid-afternoon.

Mr. Smith said: ?We will cater to you. If you come in at 4 p.m. and have been sleeping all day ? and want eggs or pancakes, you will get it.

?You can come here and get something good to eat and a speciality drink for just under $11!? Mr. Smith exuberantly bellowed from behind the counter, as he prepared a fresh smoothie for one customer.

Mr. Smith and Bermuda College trained Vernon Mills are the two chefs and masterminds behind the Mango Leaf Cafe. They created the new and original menu themselves and seem to constantly be adding to it, making alterations with their weekly specials and overflow of ideas for new wraps. ?Seventy-five percent of what I know I?ve learned from very good chefs on the island,? Mr. Smith said. ?I?ve worked the whole (restaurant) circuit.?

If the name of the cafe seems familiar to you, it was formerly known as the Mango Leaf Trini Cafe, specialising in Trinidadian fare. However, Mr. Smith, who originally looked at the restaurant with the intention of buying it from owner Leon Eves, had a dream for a great cafe but not the money.

The owners clearly trusted Mr. Smith?s energy and vision and agreed to let him take over full management and responsibility of the restaurant.

The cafe was closed in December for preparations and reopened in April with a completely new menu comprised mostly of speciality wrap sandwiches or, as Mr. Smith put it, ?a different twist on wraps?.

One regular customer, Orlando, said: ?Everything here has always been good. Everything has always been exceptional.?

Mr. Smith added: ?Orlando is the best kind of customer. He has come at least once every week (since the April opening) and brings other people.?

Mr. Smith said the cafe is very proud of its style of cooking particularly because both he and Mr. Mills are Bermudians.

With their combined experience of 25 years in the business, Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Mills have ?a lot of imagination... lots of style?.

In addition to the cafe?s signature wraps, also on the menu are original, home-made drinks and smoothies. Only the freshest ingredients are used in all of the food.

?We try to use fresh herbs and fresh spices when we can. Our customers will bring them in for us from their gardens,? said Mr. Smith.

The cafe has theme?Fridays with fresh, local fish featured in most dishes for the day including wraps and salads pan fried, deep-fried or grilled fish.

Mr. Smith said he and Mr. Mills run wild with new ideas for the cafe?s cuisine, and similarly they let their customers run wild. ?Most of our customers are very relaxed people, and we let them run wild too, so if they want something not on the menu, we?ll make it for them.

Or if they want a special from last week, we?ll make it. You won?t be disappointed. We want to accommodate everybody, so if there?s something we?ve done that you don?t like, tell us, and we?ll adjust it.?

Mr. Smith commented on what he thinks sets his business apart from other restaurants on the island: ?In my humble opinion, many Bermudian chefs become disillusioned with the business and want to make a lot of money right away, but you have to pay your dues.?

The cafe offers catering for up to 50 people in addition to the daily, in-house fare. Mr. Smith said that he and Mr. Mills were ?in the midst of creating a menu? to offer to corporations for catering both receptions and weekly lunches.

However, the cafe is reluctant to include any Trinidadian fare on either catering menus or daily menus ?because there is a market for it, but we don?t want the public to believe this is still Trini Cafe?.

Mr. Smith said: ?Eating should not just be an affair, but it should be an event. Every time you sit down to eat, it shouldn?t just be because you?re hungry.?