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.
So Glad to hear you are back and healthy. Your recipes are part of my daily cooking. Always go to them. Can’t wait to see what is in store!
Thank you Karen for your message, I am so glad to be back in business. I’m honored to be in your daily cooking, hope you enjoy my exciting new recipes. Xx
Hi Karina,
I came across you Instagram a few years ago as I have a Catering business and always searching different food ideas, and was so impressed by your simple food recipes. Love following you and your new FB video post. Love your journey, you really enjoy what you do and it shows, your personality shines through. Keep up the good work.!!❣️
I have been baking your brownies for years and they are THE BEST brownies I have ever tasted in the entire world !!! I didn’t know that you are also writing other recipes but I will check it out as I am sure they will be delicious! Keen to try some healthy ones ! All the best for you and thank you !
Thank you very much Kristina, hope you enjoy the healthy ones as much as I do!
Hello Karina, I am so thrilled for you to be a survivor of Cancer, it is a fantastic achievement on its own, a hard battle to win at any time of life. I have lost 4 people who I looked up to in my life from cancer, including my late wife who was loved by all who knew her. She was a gentle soul who adored animals of any kind. Your food looks divine, as do you, I hasten to add. Karina, you have shared so much of your life with millions of people, the good the bad and the ugly, I just wanted to thank you for the fortitude you have shown. You are such a beautiful person on the inside as you are on the outside, please forgive my intrusion on your time but having read your story I had to say something, long may you continue on your recovery because with cancer every day is a day of recovery. Best wishes and good health X
Hey Kevin. Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart!! I’m so sorry for the incredible loss you’ve endured—your words about your wife brought tears to my eyes. She sounds like such a kind, gentle soul. I’m honored that you took the time to share something so personal with me. Cancer changes everything, and you’re absolutely right: every single day is part of the recovery. Sending love, strength, and healing right back to you. You’ve touched my heart today. Thank you for being here Xx
Hello Karina
Wonderful! You’re amazing! I have actually been following you, Karina, for quite some time. Welcome back! I enjoy your enthusiasm and love for,… good, no great food! I’m half indian and make a lot a Indian food; that said; love your recipe for Butter Chicken. It compares with many and has authentic taste. Thanks for sharing it. Looking forward to more CafeDelites recipes.
Joseph! Thank you so much! It means the world to hear this—especially from someone who knows and loves Indian food! I’m honored that my Butter Chicken holds up in your kitchen. So happy to have you here, and even happier to be back. Can’t wait to keep cooking and sharing more deliciousness with you! Xx
Hi Karina,
Glad you’re back and posting delicious recipes! I haven’t seen in a while and love the revamp of your webpage.
Hi Karina,
Very glad you are back. I always enjoyed your recipes and I am looking forward to new ones
Thanks Jim. So happy to be back!
I love your butter chicken recipe. And now I decided to read about you and I am blown away by your strength. Thank you for sharing your story and culinary takes!
Congratulations on your victory over cancer. To God be the glory! Correct me if I’m wrong, but are those, “Sur la Table” cookware hanging ever so beautifully in the back ground? You are a beautiful lady and God has an awesome journey for you.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
You look so lovely for being in the kitchen?, but nice to see someone that does good cooking.
Your page is my go-to for any and all recipes! So glad to see you flourishing doing what you love. Thank you for all the awesome content.