PINKY Marquez was only 10 years old when she bought her first cookbook and was given cooking lessons by her mother. She got hooked and begged to be enrolled in formal cooking classes.

''Cooking came naturally to me. It was as easy as brushing my teeth or taking a bath,'' she recalls. She later dreamed of sharing this expertise with people, wishing that someday she would somehow be part of the food business.

Decades later, now an established performer, singer (she is with the Ang4 quartet), TV host (of the cooking show, ''Lutong Bahay'') and stage actress, Pinky, with the help of her close friends, has opened a restaurant on P. Tuazon in Cubao, Quezon City, and has thus fulfilled her childhood dream.

The place, called Ta-Batchoy, is a specialty batchoy house that prides itself not only on its authentic La Paz Batchoy, but also its homecooked Filipino dishes like adobo, spicy barbecue and dinuguan at very affordable prices.

How did she come up with the idea of a batchoy place? Pinky reveals, ''At first, I didn't know what type of food to offer. It took me a long time to figure out the details. I prayed , and I got my answer. The cook the place, the right people, and then everything just fell into place.

''The answer was right there on my nails!'' she laughs. ''My family always goes to this particular beauty parlor, and one time the manicurista offered delicious batchoy for merienda. It was prepared by her husband, who had already given up his job in the Visayas to join his family in Manila. So we hired him right away. We finally opened last Oct. 15.''

So, what is so special about her batchoy? ''The secret of a good batchoy is in the soup,'' she winks, ''and what we put in the soup is our trade secret.''

But the restaurant business is not without its down side, especially for a busy performer like Pinky. Although she enjoys attending to the needs of the business, it took time for her to get the hang of and dividing her time between her singing engagements, the restaurant, and her family.

''I spend quality time with my kids, go out for late dinner with them, catch a movie. I do the marketing myself to make sure that the kids have everything they need. When I get home earlier than expected, we shop together.

''My kids understand that work is work, that what's important is not the amount of time but the quality of time you spend with them,'' she sighs and laughs, ''of course, life would be better if there were 30 hours in a day!''

What is her target clientele for Ta-Batchoy? ''The C-D-E crowd,'' she replies ''--but we have learned not to limit ourselves with a particular group of clients because most of our customers now are from the A-B, people with cars, the artist types, the yuppies who take out food to bring to work or to take home for dinner.''

It has only been two months since the restaurant opened but Pinky already has her share of stories to tell about unruly customers. But Pinky has learned to take everything in stride.

Does it help that she's a celebrity? ''Not really,'' she quips. ''Although the customers sometimes looks awed when they see me around. But I wouldn't mind the commercial push that my being a celebrity can give the place. Pero it's better for people to find out that the food is good before they learn that I own the place.''

Does she see herself quitting show biz to devote all of her time to the restaurant business? ''Hard to say, really,'' she explains. ''I'd rather do both. When I'm 80 perhaps, and I can't get up onstage without people helping me, probably then, I'd have to consider retirement, but until then...,'' she laughs.