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’m glad to find you! This is what I’ve been looking for!
Hi Carol! Welcome! So glad to have you! Xx
I never comment on anything, but I just had to for this. You have by far the best recipes on the internet. Every single item I make of yours is a big hit. Your steak bites and butter chicken in particular are literally better than any restaurant I’ve been to.
Thank you so much for all these amazing recipes.
Hi! Thank you so much for that sweet sweet comment. Im so happy that you enjoy my recipes and most important, the process of cooking them. Hope to see you back for more recipes soon. Xx
Hi Karina having followed and tried your recipes/ meals I must tell you that the Creamy Parmesan chicken is so good I have to make it at least once a month as my wife just loves it so much. This is by far her favourite pasta dish ! Definitely keep trying your other recipes as they are so good and easy
Thanks
Hi Martin! Thank you for the feedback and so happy to hear that your family is enjoying your cooking. That makes it so worth while! Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! Xx
Hi Karina! I have followed you for quite a long time. I wanted to thank you for creating and sharing all these amazing recipes!
Every recipes I have tried has been awesome! I know I never have to do a trial run before making one of your recipes for my family, friends, and parties. I know they will always come out amazing and everyone that I have shared with, agrees!
Looking forward to making many more!
Hi Stefanie, thank you so much! That is honestly the best compliment I could receive. Hope you enjoy my future ones too! Xx
Hello Karina,
I loved the simple style you present your Thai Green Chicken Curry and will try it within the next few days. Since I have lived in Thailand for almost 3 years, I love any kind of Thai food.
Best
Bernd
Going to try making the chimichurri for steak
we are going to try your honey garlic salmon tonight, it sounds wonderful. Thanks and keep putting out the great recipes!!!
Hi Karina,
I asked my wife what she wanted for dinner she said shrimp. So here we. Fingers crossed.
HI GOOD EVENING MAM GOING TO TRY YOUR RECIPE TONIGHT ,I HAD JUST REPLACED BEEF MINCE WITH LAMB MEAT ,& PORK MEAT WITH LAMB FAT HOPE IT GOES WELL .
A friend made your Baked Chicken with Honey Mustard Sauce – it was the BEST chicken dish I have ever tasted!!!!!! I had already defrosted chicken at home – came home and made the recipe myself. Ummmm Good! Thank you for sharing.
I am looking forward to trying your other recipes!
Great to hear Peggy, hope you enjoy the other recipes too! Sign up for my free weekly newsletters to get fresh new recipes each week! Enjoy Xx