From Oil & Gas to Wellness Mogul: Gaurav Gupta’s Journey to 12+ Spas Across Canada

November 21, 2025 0:00:27

Gaurav Gupta, Owner of Leela Eco Spa, Leela Thermal House and SKA Thermal Spa.

Entrepreneur with a passion for purpose-driven growth, operational efficiency, and people centered leadership. He combines a background in engineering and global business with a hands-on approach to building service based brands.

After 6 years in Oil & Gas (SNC-Lavalin & Suncor Energy), he transitioned into entrepreneurship in 2014 by acquiring Leela Eco Spa, despite no prior experience in the wellness space. What began as a single spa in Calgary has grown into a portfolio of 12+ locations across Canada, including the launch of SKA Thermal Spa, Calgary’s first urban thermal wellness concept.

Today, Leela Eco Spa and SKA Thermal Spa support over 350 team members and serve 140,000+ guests annually. The growth has been guided by lean systems, strong financial discipline, and a commitment to uplifting both clients and team members through exceptional service and meaningful experiences.

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Life doesn’t end at 50 – it starts

November 18, 2025 0:22:05

Kevin Halliday (kevinhalliday.com) is a transformation expert, TEDx speaker, and award-winning entrepreneur with success spanning the construction, fitness, and hospitality industries. He’s the founder of multiple companies, including Spindle Stairs & Railings, Alberta’s leader in stair innovation and recipient of the BUILD Award for Best Innovation Product, and Urban Studio Shed, a creative media and podcast production company. A former WNBF bodybuilding champion, Kevin turned his own life around from unhealthy and overworked to disciplined and purpose – driven. Through his hit podcast ShedTalk with Kevin Halliday and his powerful TEDx talk, “What Men Say in Sheds,” he inspires people over 50 to transform their health, master their mindset, and create lasting wealth—proving that life doesn’t end at 50, it starts.

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The Balanced Plate: How Monika Jensen Is Making Healthy Food Irresistible

November 14, 2025 0:18:58

Monika Jensen is a chef, author, and creative force passionate about bringing balance, joy, and flavor to everyday living. She is the author of a new cookbook called The Balanced Plate: Healthy Recipes with Keto Alternatives, a 265-page cookbook designed to make nutritious eating approachable, colorful, and full of flavor. Each full-color recipe includes nutritional information and practical tips for living a low-carb lifestyle without sacrificing taste. Now available on Amazon and in bookstores this November, the book reflects Monika’s belief that healthy food should be both satisfying and exciting.

Her love for food goes beyond creating recipes, it’s about turning healthy cooking into a celebration. By offering simple keto alternatives and approachable guidance, Monika helps home cooks discover meals that fuel the body while still bringing joy to the table.

For Monika, the kitchen has always been more than just a place to cook, it’s been her anchor. During challenging times, cooking gave her purpose, comfort, and a sense of calm. That personal connection to food continues to shape her work today, inspiring her upcoming second cookbook, The Spiced Plate: Savor the Spice of Global Cuisine, which explores the joy of nourishing dishes infused with global flavors.

Connect with Monika

Cookbook on Amazon: The Balanced Plate
Cookbook Website: chefmonikajensen.com
Monika Jensen Productions: Monika Jensen
Instagram: @chefmonikajensen
Instagram: @Monikajensen1
YouTube: Chef Monika Jensen
Facebook: Chef Monika Jensen
TikTok: @monikajensenofficial
Twitter/X: @monikajensen1
LinkedIn: Monika Jensen

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From Oil & Gas Executive to Luxury Real Estate Leader: Meet Chynna Winter

November 12, 2025 0:15:43

Chynna Winter is the Chief Executive Officer, Managing Broker, and Licensed Partner of Engel & Völkers Calgary. She has been an active member of the business community in Calgary for over two decades, previously holding executive management positions in the Oil & Gas industry. Chynna’s business background coupled with her passion for real estate have resulted in a long track record of successful transactions in the luxury real estate market in both Calgary and Central Alberta. She is known as a consummate professional with extensive market knowledge, sharp negotiating skills, and a dedication to providing the highest level of service.

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Inspiration for Pie Junkie was deeply personal

November 7, 2025 0:15:21

Nancy Goemans is the founder and co-owner of Pie Junkie, a Calgary artisan pie shop she established in 2015. Prior to launching the business, she spent more than 25 years running a boutique marketing and design agency focused on the hospitality and food industries—building brands, developing menus, styling cookbooks, and shaping food-centric experiences.

The inspiration for Pie Junkie was deeply personal. Nancy’s daughter, Taya, who lives with Williams syndrome, loved baking pies with her grandmother. After Nancy’s mother passed away, Taya asked, “Who will make pie with me now?” Nancy replied, “I will,” to which Taya responded that she wanted to make pie for a living. That exchange sparked Nancy’s mission to create a space where exceptional pies would be crafted by hand and where all people—particularly those facing employment barriers—would be welcomed.

Toward the end of Pie Junkie’s inaugural year, Nancy partnered with her longtime friend Jo-Anne Caza, who brought financial and operational expertise to complement Nancy’s creative vision. Together, they have grown Pie Junkie from a single storefront into five Calgary locations, while preserving the brand’s commitment to quality, craftsmanship, and community.

Under Nancy and Joanne’s leadership, Pie Junkie has become celebrated for its all-butter crusts, scratch-made fillings, seasonal menus, ethical sourcing, sustainable practices, and dedication to social impact.

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Turning a personal passion into a thriving business

October 29, 2025 0:21:52

Sweet Bella is one of Calgary’s top chocolatiers, known for its bold, adventurous approach to flavour. Pastry Chef Kevin Conniff founded Sweet Bella as a labour of love, turning a personal passion into a thriving business with products now available in over 20 locations across Western Canada, as well as in Connecticut, Texas, and Colorado.

The name Sweet Bella means “the sweet beautiful”—a concept that comes to life in the brand’s signature eccentric flavours and intricately engraved chocolate bars. While early creations were inspired by tea and spice blends, the company has since evolved to focus on a broader and ever-changing palette of creative ingredients.

Kevin is a classically trained pastry chef with over 25 years of experience. He currently teaches as a Pastry Chef Instructor at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). In 2023, he was featured on the Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship,” Season 10, where he was the only Canadian contestant and finished as runner-up, showcasing the exceptional talent Calgary has to offer.

Originally from New York, Kevin’s culinary journey began in 1992 with a job washing dishes at a local bakery. He quickly became captivated by the craft, working his way up and eventually attending pastry school—where, ironically, tempering chocolate was once his greatest challenge. Today, chocolate is his passion and his art form.

Kevin and his wife Melissa share a love of coffee, red wine, sweet treats, and great conversation. Their two sons are often found in the chocolate shop, learning about life, business, and the joy of creative work, usually to the soundtrack of ’90s hip-hop and alt-rock.

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On a mission to help others embrace a holistic, healthier lifestyle

October 22, 2025 0:17:44

Amanda Schmidt is the heart behind Purely Inspired Living. The 28-year-old’s own path to wellness began with a lot of frustration and self-doubt. She spent years investing time, energy, money, and resources into her health but still felt stuck — constantly fatigued and holding so much grief of not feeling well. That’s when she discovered ONDAMED®️, and everything shifted.

As Calgary’s only certified ONDAMED®️ practitioner, her mission is to help others embrace a holistic, healthier lifestyle through personalized, non-invasive care. With Purely Inspired Living, she’s building not just a wellness practice but a community that supports self-empowerment, confidence, and discovery — rooted in the belief that we all carry the innate ability to heal.

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Known for his extraordinary celebrity clientele and philanthropic efforts

September 30, 2025 0:29:12

Chris Tutty is a local boy, born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His love of the arts could be observed in every school he attended: poetry books, yearbook covers, coloring contests, large murals, paintings, and his participation in various school productions and talent shows. After high school Chris stopped painting and drawing all together to pursue a Geology degree. It seemed more practical to follow his father’s footsteps into the oil and gas field.

Chris has also sold real-estate, and has worked on many different movie projects, and commercials throughout the years, from The Assassination of Jesse James to Passchendaele. Currently he is co-producing a television show called the Chevy Boyzzz with co-star David “Shark” Fralick of The Young and the Restless and The Hollywood Way.

Over the years Chris rarely had a spare moment to explore and express his truly passionate side through art. With the passing of three incredibly influential people in his life, Chris found himself drawn back to what always helped him convey his raw unfiltered emotions-ART!

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How to survive and thrive in today’s restaurant industry

September 25, 2025 0:29:12

Ryan Blackwell is a Calgary chef and restaurateur known for concept-driven menus and polished, approachable cooking. Raised in Cochrane and trained at SAIT, Blackwell sharpened his craft in Vancouver’s restaurant scene, including a turn as chef de cuisine at the acclaimed Bin 941, before returning home to open Elbow Room in Britannia in 2017 with partner Josh Brennand. The restaurant earned quick acclaim, landing in Avenue’s “Calgary’s 25 Best Restaurants” and on OpenTable’s national “100 Best Restaurants for a Big Night Out.”

Since then, Blackwell has helped shape several Beltline concepts, founding Sensei Bar in 2021 and later leading the culinary program at Olea, an all-day café and bar inspired by Mediterranean coastal cooking. His current remit spans culinary director and partner roles across Olea and sister venues, where menus lean into handmade pastas, local market produce, and shareable plates that balance comfort and flair. His kitchens favour seasonality, clear flavours, and hospitable service, reflecting a belief that memorable dining should feel both special and easy to love.

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A Hug in a Bowl personified

September 23, 2025 0:29:12

Sharon Hapton, a successful Calgary-based businesswoman and mother of two, is the founder and CEO of Soup Sisters and Hug in a Bowl Enterprises.

In 2008-2009, leading up to her 50th birthday, Sharon channeled her belief in the healing power of homemade soup into founding Soup Sisters, a grassroots organization. Recognized nationally and regionally for her work, Sharon has led the movement that has delivered over 4 million ‘Hugs in a Bowl’ to families and individuals in crisis. She has received numerous accolades, including being named one of Chatelaine’s and CityTV’s Women of the Year and receiving the Meritorious Service Medal from the Governor General of Canada in 2016.

“I am a soup maker. I have cared for family and friends with soup for most of my adult life. If someone was down or needed some extra care, I would show up at their door, most often unannounced and with soup. I knew that this simple gesture had the power to change their day, and in the process of making it, I was letting them know how much I cared.

The whole exchange – the soup-making, the visit, the comfort it provided and the appreciation it returned – created a fulfilling cycle of giving. Here is the recipe for Soup Sisters. All it took was for me to realize that I didn’t need to look beyond my truest self and that what I was looking for had always been inside me, just waiting to be recognized. After all, I am, and always have been, a soup maker.”

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