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.
I LOVE YOU KARINA…
I love when I tried the recipe, you sent me and I wanna try more. Thank you so much
You are an inspiration to us all. Plus you are a great cook. I have made several of your recipes and have loved them all.
Love you xx
Thank you Jackie for your kind words, it means a lot to me! Xx
I’m so glad you’re back! I literally needed inspiration to get back into the kitchen and found one of your emails in my SPAM folder!!
Hi Deauna, So glad to be back! look out for some more recipes very soon. Xx
So glad to see you back with a new beautiful website. I’ve been making your chicken cacciatore and visiting your site for new recipes ideas monthly for a few years now. So surprised and happy to see new posts this time!
Thanks Kes, So happy to be back! I have lots more surprises planned. Stay tuned. Xx
Hi Karina, I’m subscribed to your YouTube channel love your recipes! Just saw you on your podcast and I’m blown away by your strength! I sincerely hope that from now on you get to live a life with no more challenges to your health. You look beautiful and you are absolutely right when you say people need to talk without the fear of being judged.
Life gave you a second chance and look what you did with it! You should be very proud of yourself. Congratulations on the new you!
Oh wow… thank you SO much!! Your words truly touched my heart. It’s been a journey—one I never expected—but hearing this kind of support makes every step worth it. I’m so grateful for this second chance and for kind souls like you cheering me on. Thank you for being here, for listening, for cooking with me… and for reminding me why I keep going. Sending you so much love and light. Xx
Hello Karina. I am so thrilled that you are back. I have collected many of your delicious recipes and now I have subscribed to your Cafe Delites blog. I look forward to making these delicious recipes for my wife. Thank you for being you.
Thanks Scott, so happy you have joined our growing family, enjoy cooking Xx
Glad you are back, stronger than ever!
Thanks Ali, It’s great to be back! Xx
Hello, I have been making your recipes for years. It is nice to meet you. We all go through hard times, but it sounds like you have really had more than your share. I admire you and hope you will keep your head up and your heart open to future good times. Keep on Cookin! 🙂
Thansk Pat, Thank you very much for the message; it’s so amazing to hear you have been enjoying my recipes for a while now. I am so excited to share with you some great new ones soon! Xx
You are beautiful Karina! Both inside and out. I wish you the very best with your new path. You were missed and welcome Back! 🙂
Thank you Paula, so happy to be back and cooking, hope you enjoy all my new recipes. Xx