{"id":317034,"date":"2026-03-07T03:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/317034\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T03:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T03:32:08","slug":"forkin-good-podcast-how-health-scares-brought-simon-gault-and-kate-fenwick-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/317034\/","title":{"rendered":"Forkin\u2019 Good podcast: How health scares brought Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick together"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s been just over a decade since the former MasterChef NZ judge transformed his own life after his doctor warned he might not live to see Hazel walk down the aisle if he didn\u2019t start managing his type 2 diabetes<\/a> better. <\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s sharing what he\u2019s learned to support Kate, a waste-minimisation educator, on her own health journey and documenting it on their podcast in the hopes of helping others.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember years ago when I found out I had type 2 diabetes, I didn\u2019t want to talk about it because I was embarrassed,\u201d Simon tells.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I did the documentary Why Are We Fat?, all these people emailed me going, \u2018You\u2019ve saved my life.\u2019 Grown men would come into my restaurant and give me a big hug and say, \u2018You don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve done for me.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s incredible that Kate is happy to share her story \u2013 we\u2019re trying to make a difference.\u201d <\/p>\n

Last year, the Waste-Ed with Kate founder landed in the hospital when she started having problems with her heart \u2013 issues she is still waiting for answers about. <\/p>\n

\u201cMy pulse was all of a sudden really low and I found out I had an erratic heartbeat,\u201d the 48-year-old explains. \u201cIt can be due to stress, but I\u2019m still waiting for the results of some scans. And my doctor told me I am pre-diabetic.\u201d <\/p>\n

With a busy schedule and travelling the country to facilitate education seminars, Kate knew she was running herself ragged. But she says the experience gave her the wake-up call she needed to make some major lifestyle changes. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a huge amount of stress and been so busy that I haven\u2019t really looked after myself properly,\u201d she admits. \u201cI\u2019m not 50 yet, but I need to start making changes. I want to hit my fifties being healthier.\u201d <\/p>\n

And then things took an unexpected turn. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe project has already grown far beyond getting Kiwis back in the kitchen and teaching them more about reducing waste. Photo \/ Robert Trathen<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d been wanting to do a podcast for a few years, but I didn\u2019t want to do anything on my own,\u201d Kate tells. \u201cAll I\u2019m going to do is talk about rubbish, which I felt would be short-lived. My friend said, \u2018You need to meet Simon \u2013 he needs to do a podcast<\/a>.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

Simon continues, \u201cHe organised a lunch, and Kate and I sat there chatting away. We thought, \u2018This is quite good.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

Originally, their goal was to get Kiwis back in the kitchen and teach them more about reducing waste, but the project has already grown far beyond that. <\/p>\n

As well as documenting Kate\u2019s health journey, they now interview industry leaders and inspirational figures, and recently launched a spin-off series in which they tiki-tour different restaurants to review their food, supporting fellow small businesses along the way.<\/p>\n

While they have won many fans, both agree that the best thing to come out of the podcast is their newfound deep friendship.<\/p>\n

Their families have spent so much time together that even Hazel and Kate\u2019s stepson Lewys, 12, have become a dynamic duo. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the weekends, Simon and Hazel come down to our place in the Coromandel, and we hang out, then the kids go off scootering together,\u201d says Kate. \u201cIt\u2019s been a perfect match.\u201d<\/p>\n

The only downside, they joke, is that some people mistake them for a couple, but neither of them is bothered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband Aaron is often the one behind the camera filming the podcast,\u201d Kate says.<\/p>\n

Simon adds with a smile, \u201cWe\u2019re just really good friends.\u201d <\/p>\n

Listen to Forkin\u2019 Good everywhere podcasts are found or follow them on Instagram @forkingoodpod<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been just over a decade since the former MasterChef NZ judge transformed his own life after his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[95,1558,14645,11783,49268,169,18089,156,171783,171780,171782,6101,134,11551,221,2517,194,111,139,69,3800,171781,6037,12637,303,6041,1316],"class_list":{"0":"post-317034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-been","10":"tag-beloved","11":"tag-brought","12":"tag-chats","13":"tag-chef","14":"tag-dramatic","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-fenwick","17":"tag-forkin","18":"tag-gault","19":"tag-good","20":"tag-health","21":"tag-hours","22":"tag-how","23":"tag-kate","24":"tag-kiwi","25":"tag-new-zealand","26":"tag-newzealand","27":"tag-nz","28":"tag-podcast","29":"tag-scares","30":"tag-simon","31":"tag-together","32":"tag-very","33":"tag-weekly","34":"tag-when"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}