A veejay in the kitchen

Every Friday at 10 to 10:30 a.m., Donita Rose is in a makeshift, on-the-go kitchen, cooking up new dishes for GMA 7’s Mobile Kusina. Televiewers will see the former MTV Asia VJ whipping up dishes with celebrity guests, sharing cooking tips and visiting local sites to complement the show’s gustatory delights.

Although hosting is something she can do with eyes closed, Donita still has first-time jitters whenever the camera starts to grind.

"I feel I’m starting all over again," Donita describes how it feels to be hosting a cooking show.

"It has a different format. I’m still getting into the flow."

You can’t blame Donita for feeling that way. The channel she was connected with, MTV Asia caters to the youth and its main topic is music, movie and entertainment. Mobile Kusina, on the other hand, is all about food, and caters to moms and women who cook. Since the show’s audience is masa, Donita punctuates the beginning and end of most of her speaking lines with "Mga mare ko, and malalim na Tagalog," as she puts it.

This time, Donita has to stick to the script without ad-libbing and improvising. On MTV Asia, she is used to injecting anything she wants, as long as it’s relevant to the show.

With her celebrity stature, Donita the cook is something others have yet to see for themselves.

"I really cook," insists Donita. "It’s my passion. Ang kamay ko ay kamay ng masipag magluto. I think I’m an excellent and experimental cook. I can turn dishes to gourmet. I love to cook all sorts of stuff. I can make pinakbet, adobo, lechong tagalog, pancit, pasta. Even without cookbook, I can come up anything I want."

Before the GMA 7 project came about, Donita was living comfortably in Singapore where husband Eric Villarama works. Whenever there are Manila engagements, she would slip into the city unnoticed and shuttle back just as quietly to Singapore.

This free-wheeling schedule, however, was temporarily interrupted when Mobile Kusina entered the picture. It requires her to stay in the country for three months.

"I can’t still believe I’m a mom," says Donita. "I feel that I’m still 16 years old, na may kasamang anak lang. I’m happy because I married the right guy. Every day I look forward to waking up. I look forward to talking to my husband and spending time with him. My son is also my joy and my everything."

For a young, doting mother of one, being away from her immediate family means missing quality time with them.

However, Donita does a lot of catching up when Eric and son JP visit her in the Philippines from time to time for a week or so. When she’s away, Donita entrusts all caring of her son to a Pinay yaya.

After all these years, does she have plans of resuming her VJ career?

Donita’s reply: "It’s really hard to tell (because I’m married). If I’m for a different market now, I’d rather focus on other things and not waste my time. I love MTV and it will always have a special spot in my heart."