Forkin' Good with Simon Gault & Kate Fenwick

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What does it take to build a restaurant worthy of Michelin recognition, while still staying completely true to yourself?

This week on Forkin' Good, Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick sit down with chef and 50/50 owner Helen Turnbull, whose remarkable career has taken her from Wellington to Japan, working with Gordon Ramsay and Michelin-starred chefs, before returning to New Zealand and creating her own dining experience in Kāpiti.

Helen shares what Gordon Ramsay is actually like to work for, the lessons she learnt cooking in Tokyo, and how Japanese and French techniques have influenced the food she creates at 50-50.

We also get inside Helen's extraordinary approach to food. She works with local and foraged ingredients, cooks six and nine-course menus, operates without a walk-in chiller and has spent much of the past nine and a half years as the restaurant's sole chef.

Then there's Michelin.

Helen talks about what it meant when the Michelin Guide finally arrived in New Zealand, the moment she discovered 50-50 was being considered, and what it felt like to receive international recognition for the restaurant she'd spent nearly a decade building.

But does she now want a Michelin star?

Her answer says a lot about the kind of restaurant she wants 50-50 to be.

We also talk about why great service matters just as much as great food, building a strong restaurant culture, seasonal and rescued produce, and Helen's latest obsession: creating sophisticated non-alcoholic drinks designed specifically to match her food.

And, of course, Simon finishes with the important question: if Helen could choose her last meal, what would it be?

Subscribe to Forkin' Good with Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick for more conversations with fascinating people from the worlds of food, health, business and beyond.

Find Helen and 50-50:
https://www.50-50.co.nz/

Follow the podcast on Instagram and Tiktok: @forkingoodpod

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Instagram: @simon_gault
Facebook: @Officialsimongault
Tiktok: Simonjgault
Youtube: Simon Gault

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What happens after the transplant is over and you're expected to get on with living?

In Part 2 of our conversation with double lung transplant recipient and health coach Jess Avenell, we explore the side of transplantation that doesn't always get talked about: rebuilding your health, finding a new normal, creating the right support network and learning how to live well with the second chance you've been given.

Six and a half years after receiving new lungs, Jess shares what she wishes she'd known before her transplant, why recovery involves far more than medical care, and how nutrition, movement, behaviour and lifestyle can complement the medical support transplant recipients receive.

We also talk about the enormous role played by family, friends and support people, and why those caring for transplant recipients need support too.

Jess takes us inside the extraordinary Transplant Games, where organ recipients, living donors and transplant families come together to compete, connect and celebrate the additional years of life made possible through organ donation.

And there's an important conversation for every New Zealander: having "donor" on your driver's licence isn't the whole story. Jess explains why talking openly with your family about your wishes matters.

Today, Jess uses her lived experience as The Transplant Coach, helping transplant recipients and their support crews navigate their own journeys with greater strength, health and hope.

Find Jess and learn more:
The Transplant Coach: thetransplantcoach.co.nz
Instagram & Facebook: The Transplant Coach

If you haven't watched Part 1 yet, check out our previous episode to hear Jess's remarkable story of receiving a double lung transplant.

Subscribe to Forkin' Good with Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick for more conversations about food, health, people and the things that make a difference in our lives.

This podcast discusses personal experiences of transplantation, nutrition and health coaching. It is not a substitute for individual medical advice from your healthcare or transplant team.

Follow the podcast on Instagram and Tiktok: @forkingoodpod

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Facebook: @Officialsimongault
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What do you do with a second chance at life when somebody else made that second chance possible?

In this episode of the Forking Good Podcast, Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick sit down with Jess Avenell — The Transplant Coach — to hear the extraordinary story behind her double lung transplant.

Jess was just 21 when she was diagnosed with a rare lung disease. She was young, fit and training for a half Ironman when she began noticing that something wasn't right. Eventually, she was confronted with the devastating possibility that she might not make it to 30.

Instead of putting life on hold, Jess booked a one-way ticket to the Greek Islands, spent years living and working overseas, built her career and kept pushing forward — even as breathing became increasingly difficult. Eventually, she required full-time oxygen and had to plan something as simple as her commute around whether she'd physically be able to walk up a ramp.

Then came the call that changed everything.

After an intensive transplant assessment and roughly 60 days on the waiting list, Jess received a double lung transplant in 2020. But receiving new lungs wasn't the end of her journey — in many ways, it was the beginning.

Jess opens up about the gratitude she feels toward her donor and their family, the emotional reality of living with donated organs, transplant recovery, immunosuppression, relationships, identity and what happens when everyone around you thinks you're “fixed” — but you know you've come out the other side as a different person.

Today, Jess uses her experience as The Transplant Coach, helping others focus not simply on what they can't do after transplant, but on how they can meaningfully move forward and make the most of the life they've been given.

And this is only Part 1.

In the next episode, Jess joins Simon and Kate again to dive deeper into life after transplant, food, health and the practical strategies she now shares with others.

Connect with Jess Avenell — The Transplant Coach:

Facebook: Jess Avenell – The Transplant Coach
https://www.facebook.com/share/1dMAFKB9Xt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Instagram: @the_transplantcoach

LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessavenell

Website:
www.thetransplantcoach.nz

YouTube:
https://youtube.com/@the_transplantcoach?si=d9Bslgu2ezFHu_e_

Subscribe to the Forking Good Podcast to make sure you don't miss Part 2 with Jess.

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Follow Simon on his channels below:
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Facebook: @Officialsimongault
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What if knowing when to quit is just as important as knowing how to persevere?

In this episode of the Forking Good Podcast, Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick sit down with leadership, health and triathlon coach Gareth Holebrook, author of Ishi: The Discipline of Determined Intent.

Gareth explores the philosophy behind Ishi and what decades of business, coaching and extreme endurance racing have taught him about determination, leadership, failure and burnout.

Having completed more than 30 iron-distance races, Gareth knows plenty about persistence. But some of his biggest lessons came from the times he persisted for too long — including spending five years pursuing a business that wasn't commercially viable. His message? Giving up isn't necessarily failure. Sometimes, knowing when to abort is a skill.

The conversation explores Gareth's Ishi Spiral, his Adjust–Hold–Abort framework, why writing down your intentions can change your behaviour, the power of deliberate practice, and how asking what your future self would think can lead to better decisions.

They also discuss Japanese philosophy, Kaizen, leadership, Ironman racing, burnout, business failure and why high performers can sometimes become victims of their own determination.

If you're ambitious, constantly juggling competing priorities, struggling to finish what you start — or doing so much that you're heading toward burnout — this conversation is for you.

👍 Like, subscribe and share the Forking Good Podcast for more conversations with Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick.

Follow the podcast on Instagram and Tiktok: @forkingoodpod

Follow Simon on his channels below:
Instagram: @simon_gault
Facebook: @Officialsimongault
Tiktok: Simonjgault
Youtube: Simon Gault

Follow Waste-ed with Kate here:
Instagram: @wastedwithkate
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wastefreewithkate
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Youtube: Waste-ed with Kate

01:08 Why Gareth removed the word “they” from his book
05:50 What Ishi and “determined intent” really mean
08:24 The brutal double iron-distance race that tested Gareth
09:46 When persistence becomes a problem
12:05 The Ishi Spiral: Adjust, Hold or Abort
14:02 Why quitting doesn't mean you've failed
16:25 Getting 1% better & defeating yesterday's self
18:46 The Intent Card: turning intentions into commitments
28:47 Business failures, burnout & lessons from organisations
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What separates a great leader from someone who simply tells people what to do?

In Part 2 of our conversation with leadership coach, endurance athlete and author Gareth Holebrook, we move from burnout and resilience into the practical realities of leadership.

Gareth introduces intent based leadership, an approach that shifts decision making closer to the people actually doing the work. Instead of employees constantly asking the boss what to do, leaders create an environment where their teams can think, make decisions and take genuine ownership.

Drawing on lessons from nuclear submarines, emergency departments, corporate teams, restaurants and his own leadership coaching, Gareth explains how surprisingly small changes in language can completely change the way a team operates.

We explore why leaders become decision bottlenecks, why micromanagement can hold good people back, and how to give employees autonomy without giving up accountability.

Gareth also shares the Ladder of Leadership, including the simple questions leaders can use to move someone from "Tell me what to do" to "This is what I intend to do."

Plus, we get Gareth's practical formula for running a meeting that actually achieves something, including why the most senior person in the room should often speak last.

If you lead a team, own a business, manage people or simply want to become a better leader, there are plenty of practical ideas in this episode you can start using immediately.

Follow the podcast on Instagram and Tiktok: @forkingoodpod

Follow Simon on his channels below:
Instagram: @simon_gault
Facebook: @Officialsimongault
Tiktok: Simonjgault
Youtube: Simon Gault

Follow Waste-ed with Kate here:
Instagram: @wastedwithkate
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wastefreewithkate
Tiktok: wasted.kate
Youtube: Waste-ed with Kate
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