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 have a question about your blueberry sauce recipe. The ingredients call for 1/3 cup of water and also 2 tablespoons of water. In the instructions it says to combine the ingredients, blueberries, water, sugar, lemon juice and water in a small sauce pan. What water? I was a bit confused. Could you explain that for me?
Hi Debbie, Thanks for pointing that out, I will fix the recipe, added in water too many times, so here is the breakdown so you don’t end up with a watery mess, The 1/3 cup of water – This goes into the saucepan first with the blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice to get everything boiling. The 2 tablespoons of water is separate to mix with the cornstarch separately. You add this mixture (slurry) in after the sauce has simmered to thicken it up. Hope this makes more sense. Enjoy Xx
I absolutely love all your recipes I’ve tried! Spaghetti bolognese and butter chicken are my favorites! My whole family is obsessed with them! Thank you!
Karina, love your story! Looking forward to your recipes!
Happy Holidays, Karina!
For Christmas dinner with family and friends, I made your Heavenly Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe, following the metric version!
I really appreciate you having both units of measure!
It turned out fantastic, and I truly love sharing good food and meals with family and friends. I’ll look for more of your recipes.
Thanks Paul, Happy Holidays! Hope you had a great time with your family! Xx
Hi Karina, tonight I made your mushroom soup recipe. Very tasty and easy to make. I used Crimini and Shitaki mushrooms. Looking forward to trying more of you recipes. Thank you.
PW
I love your recipes and cplease continue your good work.
You have made cooking sexy!
Hey, back off shes my future ex wife…
Hello Karina, I’ve enjoyed your Jambalaya recipe several times, but I always have trouble getting the rice cooked correctly. I’ve followed the suggested cooking time but when the liquid is mostly absorbed, the rice is sometimes still crunchy. Should I add more water or broth and continue cooking until the rice has the right consistency? I’m tempted to cook the rice separately and add it in at the end, but I’m concerned that it doesn’t get the opportunity to absorb all the flavors and it won’t absorb enough liquid without becoming mushy. Even with the rice a little crunchy I still love the recipe. Thanks for what you do!
I’d also like to hear about low carb meal ideas. I’m a Type 1 Diabetic and always looking for something more than routine boring meals,
Hi Jonathan, So glad you’re loving the Jambalaya! Please don’t cook the rice separately or you’ll miss out on all that incredible flavor soaking into the grains. If it’s still crunchy, your lid might be loose or the heat too high. Just add a splash more broth about 1/4 cup, cover it tightly using foil if needed and let it steam on low for another 5–10 minutes.
For low carb options that aren’t boring, I love using creamy sauces and almond flour to keep things exciting without the blood sugar spike. Try my Creamy Tuscan Chicken with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, or the Creamy Garlic Shrimp over zucchini noodles. For comfort food, the Low Carb Chicken Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs use almond flour instead of breadcrumbs, so they are totally diabetic-friendly and delicious!
I share the same passion for good food as well, always wishing to lose ten pounds, no matter what my weight is. It’s those last 10 stubborn pounds that are the hardest.
I also had cancer. 8 years free of cancer. I had colon cancer. Happy to hear you are well now and sharing your recipes. I love to cook and I love recipes. Thanks for what you do.
Hi Olga, I am so happy to hear you are 8 years strong now. Don’t worry about the stubborn pounds, I am working on something special that may help you through cooking, I will let you know once it’s released. Thanks for being a fan! Xx
God Bless you I am an open heart 17hrs surgery survivor .
Hi Enid, God Bless you too! So happy we are able to connect through great food and survival. Xx