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/

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