JUST five days after giving birth to twins an Abergavenny chef was back at work preparing food for a wedding and two other functions.

Pavinee Taruschio Jones worked right up to the birth of Charlie and Max on Boxing Day and was determined to get back into harness immediately as she had three bookings for New Year's Eve.

The boys were born at 4am and 12 hours later they went home to join dad Ricky and big brother Jack, nine, at their home in Gwent Road, Mardy.

Ms Taruschio Jones said: "I started my catering business last June, so I was committed to the wedding for 25 guests and the two other functions. I did the cooking and had help from my dad and Ricky, while mum looked after the twins."

Just before Christmas Pavinee cooked a three-course dinner for a last-minute booking for 50 Blaenavon pensioners.

She said: "The problem is I can't say no to anyone, but I was heavily pregnant so mum, dad and Ricky all helped."

She started her business - called Pav's Kitchen - last June, and uses a custom-built, luxury trailer fitted with a cooker, grill and convector oven.

Pavinee's adoptive parents, Franco and Ann, ran the Walnut Tree for 37 years, so it was natural that Pavinee should be interested in food and cooking.

Pav's Kitchen is available for weddings, dinner parties, children's parties, buffets, and so on.

In September she exhibited at the Abergavenny Food Festival, selling Thai suckling pig, spicy sausages on a stick and Thai burgers. She also catered for the party thrown for all food festival staff after the event.

She said: "Having grown up in the Walnut Tree I was fortunate to eat the best food cooked with the best ingredients. I'm Thai by birth and to make sure I was aware of my roots my parents encouraged me to take an interest in Thai food.

"The Oriental cookery expert Sri Owen was one of my teachers, and I grew up with Italian cooking, so I tend to specialise in Thai and Italian dishes. But I'll cook anything customers want, including West Indian food."

Ms Taruschio Jones said she chose a mobile catering business because of the flexibility it gave her to bring up her family.

"You're tied to a restaurant 24/7 but my form of catering fits in better with the family because it's mostly weekend work when Ricky is home to help."