Show Notes
How do you get the vibe right at a dinner party? For bestselling cookbook author Christine Flynn, it’s pretty simple: “I am the vibe,” she jokes in Episode 3 of Group Chat. Flynn—a recipe developer, restaurant veteran and regular Chatelaine contributor—joins editor-in-chief Maureen Halushak to discuss her longstanding career in food, how she entertains and just how important food is at your dinner party. (Flynn’s new cookbook, Easy Does It, is out now, and you can preview some of her recipes in our Spring 2026 issue.)
Also in this episode: Maureen, deputy food editor Chantal Braganza and creative director Sun Ngo talk entertaining styles, disaster dinner parties—and how to get people to leave at the end of the night.
About Group Chat
Group Chat is new biweekly podcast that gets up close and personal with the editors of Chatelaine—and some very special guests.
Each episode, hosted by editor-in-chief Maureen Halushak, will explore one of the many topics, big and small, that matter to Canadian women—from menopause to weight bias to reality tv.
You can watch the podcast on Chatelaine’s YouTube channel or listen wherever you find your podcasts.
Thank you to our official furniture partner IKEA Canada.
Show Notes:
Featuring: Maureen Halushak @maureenhalushak Chantal Braganza @cbraganz Sun Ngo @sunngo.studio Christine Flynn @christineanneflynn
Production: Maureen Halushak: Producer Erica Lenti: Producer Ryan Carter: Director / Editor Natasha Zoccoli: Editor / Camera Operator Corey Misquita: Director of Photography / Motion Graphic Designer / Camera Operator Masnoon Zarif: Camera Operator / Gaffer
Furniture partner: IKEA Canada
More from Group Chat
Ah, the joys of hosting your family for the holidays: passing down traditions, feeding big groups with many dietary needs and getting everyone to leave at a decent hour. With Thanksgiving around the corner, former editor-in-chief Maureen Halushak sits down with editors Erica Lenti and Chantal Braganza to talk family functions in this special bonus episode of Group Chat.
In the season finale of Group Chat, we’re talking Sliding Doors moments: last-minute or split-second, unexpected decisions that led us to where we are in our professional and personal lives (inspired, of course, by the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow classic Sliding Doors). Host Maureen Halushak chats about her unlikely foray into journalism alongside creative director Sun Ngo and executive editor Erica Lenti.
There’s endless advice—from every corner of the internet, your friends and gym buddies—about how to work out in midlife: change your routine, get your strength training in during perimenopause, get your heart rate up, walk more, run more, do more. But how do you stay motivated to exercise at all? Personal trainer and menopause fitness expert Samantha Montpetit-Huynh (better known as Sam Core Trainer) joins Maureen Halushak in the Group Chat this week to talk about fitness in your 40s, changing how you view exercise (it’s not all about weight loss!) and the secret to staying consistent.
Is it a happy ending? A sizzling summer romance? A compulsively readable storyline? All of the above? Books columnist Alicia Cox Thomson joins the chat with editor-in-chief and host Maureen Halushak in Episode 6 of Group Chat to talk all things summer books—including the three reads she says you won’t be able to put down this season.
Stuck in a style rut? This week, fashion stylist and personal shopper Jenn Park Krulik enters the Group Chat with editor-in-chief Maureen Halushak to talk all things style—including her best tips for summer dressing, and finding hidden gems in your own closet.