Martina McBride Suffers Stage Fright … in Her Kitchen

Martina McBride can walk onstage and sing in front of thousands of people but she doesn't want an audience when she's in the kitchen.

"It's terrible! I can have no distractions when I'm cooking," Martina confesses to The Boot. "I've only recently reached the point where I can listen to music and cook."

Martina did manage to find herself surrounded by a cast and crew when she taped a segment for ABC's "The Chew" in May, something she says sounded great -- until the day of the actual taping.

"I've always wanted to be on a cooking show," she explained in a blog post after the taping took place. "Pretty bowls, beautiful ingredients, a pinch of this, a squeeze of that, some fresh ground pepper and toss it in the oven. All the while talking and being interesting while cooking."

Apparently the singer didn't think through the whole in-front-of-cameras-while-cooking scenario. There she was, in the kitchen with the show's host, Daphne Oz, and the cameras are ready to roll. "This was it. I was going to be on a cooking show. Then they gave me the list of questions she was going to ask me ... wait ... I have to answer questions and chop things with a very sharp knife?"

Martina got through the show and says she might even be up for another cooking show in her future. "I am getting a little better. I started practicing when I'm there by myself in the kitchen. I run through the recipe and I'll say, 'OK, now you chop the celery ...' I'm doing a whole cooking show in there by myself. It's awesome!"

One person who is allowed in the kitchen with mom is six-year-old daughter Ava. "She has had an uncanny interest in cooking ever since she was about three," Martina explains. "It's fun to have her come in. She always wants to help. I bought her a set of cooking things, like a safe knife, measuring cups, bowls and utensils. She gets those out but of course she wants to use the real knife. It's fun to share that time and be able to pass that on to her."

While Martina teaches Ava to cook -- and is learning to be comfortable sharing the kitchen with someone, she's even considering extending an invitation during her next dinner party.

"You read in magazines where you should leave a few of the last-minute details of a dinner party so guests can help you in the kitchen," says the singer. "Now I'm thinking maybe one day I can ask dinner guests to actually be in the kitchen with me and whip cream or slice bread while I prepare the final details of the evening meal!"

Next month, Martina makes her debut as a coach on the TV singing competition, "Opening Act," premiering July 9 on E!