Food and I have had a long, incredibly complicated love story.
For years, I chased the elusive “how to get skinny” dream, getting completely lost in punishing crash diets that left me exhausted and uninspired. I viewed the kitchen as a place of restriction rather than a place of joy.
Today, Cafe Delites represents my personal liberation from that mindset. Here, we celebrate the absolute joy of eating.
The Story Behind the Screen
Cafe Delites didn’t begin in a boardroom or with a polished plan. It started on my kitchen floor, in the middle of a kind of physical and emotional pain I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
For years, movement was my oxygen. I was a dance and Zumba instructor who loved what I did with everything in me, until life shifted in the hardest way. I was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after two long years of searching for answers. Zumba became more than a career then. It was my lifeline, the thing that reminded me I was still here, still fighting. But just as I began finding my way back, endometriosis arrived and forced me to give up dancing completely. Losing that part of myself, especially alongside a history of trauma, felt like everything was slowly being stripped away.
I turned to cooking and food photography as a way to cope, something to hold onto when everything else felt quiet and heavy. As a mother, a wife, and someone trying to keep going, I built Cafe Delites from the ground up, working up to 22 hours a day, 7 days a week, for years. I was relentless. There were days I filmed recipes for millions, then collapsed on the floor in pain between takes. As the site grew, so did the disconnect. To the world, I was creating beautiful, full flavoured recipes. Behind the scenes, I was disappearing.
I was trying to be everything for everyone else, while quietly losing myself. My weight reached 125 kilograms, and I got to a point where I avoided mirrors because I didn’t recognise the person looking back. I had built something incredible, but I had lost who I was in the process.
Now, this journey is about more than recipes or milestones. It’s about finding my way back, piece by piece, and learning that I can’t keep feeding the world if I’m still starving myself.
Experience and Recognition
I am incredibly humbled to see my creations traveling so far. From being featured on platforms like Country Living, Delish, Buzzfeed, Cosmopolitan, Huffpost, BRIT + CO, Australia Best Recipes, Food Network and Epicurious to chatting about my passion for Zumba on Channel 7’s Today Tonight. It’s been such a whirlwind!
One of my absolute favorite moments was winning the Best Recipes Home Cook Hero Competition. My Lamington French Toast with Raspberry Jam Syrup holds such a special place in my heart.
Beyond the kitchen, I’ve had the joy of partnering with brands like Natvia and supporting causes like the Lymphoma Coalition.
The Comeback
Life is Too Short Not to Enjoy Good Food
Realizing I was fading away, I made the terrifying decision to step back from the cameras. Over a three year hiatus, I went to war for my own physical and mental health. I lost 55 kilograms, but more importantly, I found the woman I had abandoned. I learned to love myself again.
Surviving stage four cancer and overcoming immense trauma lit a permanent fire inside of me. It taught me one undeniable truth. Life is entirely too short not to enjoy good food.
I am so incredibly grateful you are here. Whether you are here for the famous Deviled Potatoes, the Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese, or just a safe space to connect over our shared journeys, you are welcome at my table.
Dear Karina,
Thank you for this absolute banger of a website , completely lashed it out the park with it. Even though I scroll through every image until I get to the recipe, It is SO helpful to have a jump to recipe and print recipe button. Defo gonna try the nutella hot chocolate for sure! Beautiful pictures and amazing recipes! Good stuff good stuff!
May your nutella never spoil!
Kind regards,
A man with a sweet-tooth
Your recipes are absolutely amazing. Thank you so much for sharing them all with us. <3
Hallo Karina.
I’m from Germany and love your new Block.
You gave me so much Ideas, for that thank you.
Please, take care.
Best wishes from Ramona
Hello Karina, My heart is on fire I would love to increase my cooking skills with you, What can I say I am a hopeless romantic and had to tell you what you already know, you have stolen my heart I imagine me and countless others but boy what a strong feeling to have for someone I have not even met but wow love to meet you, I imagine you must get this a lot so I hope you are ok with yet another guys falling in love with you! OOOOO
Much love for your recipes – your site in on my bookmarks for easy access! Can’t thank you enough and keep up the great work!
I’m always excited to run across a new person I haven’t seen before in my continuous search for good food recipes, so hopefully I will see more now that you have my e-mail address.
THis is wonderful. I’ve been looking for something off offset “bland & basic” and your recipe does the job in spades. Merci a lot…
Dear Karina,
When I want something out of this world to eat, I often come here to you. Thank you for all the amazing recipes we enjoy all the time. I have never been less than wowed with any recipe and we love all the creamy mushroom cooking and the steaks, OMG!! Anyway, from a true fan, thank you so much for sharing all you have!!
Jed
After having a mild stroke TIA, I had to look after myself and in less than 3 months I’ve dropped my high cholesterol completely. I decided not to remain on these statins because of the side effects, so I have been looking at recipes that would be simple to do without the stuffs that’s unhealthy and fell on yours today. It’s exactly what I was looking for. I’ve bookmarked your site. And will get into the kitchen now. Thanks so much for sharing this site Karina.
Jacques
Melbourne, AUS.
I just made yet another of your incredible recipes! This was for the flatbread, and it was amazing! If you haven’t written a cookbook, you should – because you really are so talented! Our family favorite is your Cajun butter steak bites! Thanks so much!