With a life-long love of food, hospitality was a natural career choice for Fawn Marsh. Having enjoyed cooking with her grandma while growing up, Fawn is now passing her skills on to the next generation by teaching her daughter how to make healthy meals.
Cooking is more than a passion for Fawn Marsh â itâs about whÄnau too. With a six-year-old daughter, Fawn is keen to set a good example and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
âI wanted to learn how to make nutritious meals for my daughter. Iâve always had a love for food, but Iâve never had the options to do it.â
Now a few months into her Level 4 NZ Certificate in Cookery at Kiwa, the 26-year-old enjoys bringing the kai she makes in class home to share with her daughter.
âI donât eat the food when Iâm at my course. If I have something I think would be good for us, I save it for our dinner because I like my daughter to taste our food.â
âThe other day I made a platter with everything you need for a Chicken Caesar Salad, and I had her make her own one. I like her to get involved in helping with the cooking, as well as getting her on a healthy diet. I want her to have the healthiest food options.â
Plus, cooking on campus has given Fawn the chance to try new methods and ingredients that arenât usually in her price range as a student and single mum.
âI get to use certain ingredients that Iâd never normally be able to use due to my budgeting. I was able to make pasta because we had pasta makers. To be able to utilise stuff I donât have access to at home, because of my finances, has been amazing.â
Sharing her cooking skills with the next generation is close to Fawnâs heart, having been taught a lot as a child by her grandmother â who still lives nearby in Papakura.
âSheâs very old-school and used to cook everything for my grandad. Growing up learning how to bake with my grandma, thatâs one of my favourite memories and still to this day is one of my happy places.â
Passionate about the hospitality industry, Fawn now has her sights set on getting qualified and being her own boss.
âItâs a goal of mine to open a catering business. I want to be able to employ people whoâve been through hard times, so I can help get them out into the community.â
Culture course
Fawn (NgÄpui, Tainui) has enjoyed learning more about MÄori culture as sheâs studied cookery.
âMum is English and Scottish, and dadâs MÄori. Iâve never really been around dad; Iâve been brought up with mum and her family, so I didnât grow up knowing much about MÄori culture,â she says.
âIâve learned more at Kiwa about the MÄori culture than in the entire time I was at school. When Matariki happened this year, our chef dedicated two theory days to explaining Matariki and the traditional food.
âWe got to learn about traditional MÄori foods, which I thought was amazing because, Iâm not gonna lie, Iâm like the whitest MÄori ever â so it was awesome to learn about that.â
âThatâs something I love about the course, is that I get to learn about MÄori culture as well as hospitality.â
A side of support
Having worked since her high-school years, Fawn tried a few jobs before finding her trade. She has worked in offices, warehouses, cafés and a First Aid certificate licencing company.
âI wanted to find a job I was passionate about, which is the reason I finally started doing hospitality.
âIâm one of those ones who watches every season of Master Chef and My Kitchen Rules. Most of my Netflix is food shows.â
Studying has had its challenges for Fawn, but MPTTâs support has helped, she says.
âWhen I was doing Level 3, I was on a solo mumâs benefit because the course wasnât full-time. But when I moved to Level 4, it was considered full-time and they just cut my benefit.
âThere was a time when I wasnât actually getting paid at all, and I was scared Iâd lose my house and everything.â
Fawn was thankful to have support from her MPTT navigator, Hami Chapman, who stepped in to help get her payments sorted.
âHami gave me so much help. He organised a meeting with someone from Studylink to get everything sorted with my student allowance. I ended up getting paid that same week. I was so grateful for Hamiâs support.â
Through MPTTâs Learner Support Fund, Fawn has been able to get new chef clogs, which are specialised footwear for workers in the industry. MPTT funded a set of professional knives for Fawn.
âShe will be thrilled to have these items that she can call her own,â says Hami. âThey will definitely help her in her future culinary endeavours.â

Stepping up to the plate
Studying as a single parent means Fawn needs to stay organised.
âItâs not a problem as long as I have a routine. Iâm used to living on a timetable and having everything planned,â she says.
âMy daughterâs school and Kiwa are only five minutes apart, and I live about 10 minutes from both of them, so thatâs amazing.â
Outside of her studies, Fawn prioritises spending quality time with her daughter.
âWeâre involved in the Drury softball team, and we also go to the park or pools for âusâ time.â
Like many students, Fawnâs studies in 2020 have been disrupted by Covid-19. However, she plans to complete Level 4 in May 2021.
In the meantime, Fawn is motivated to make the most of her course and build up her skills for her ongoing career.
âI know Iâve got a long way to get there, but I want to run my own business. Thatâs why I wanted to study hospitality â itâs part and parcel with my goal for the future.â
Interested in studying cookery like Fawn? An MPTT scholarship can help. If youâre MÄori or Pasifika and you plan to study hospitality at Level 3 or Level 4, you might qualify for our scholarship programme. Find out more about a career in hospitality.