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.
Me and my family love your tomato basil soup even my pickiest eater will devour it!! Making right now actually as I’m writing this!!
Seven years ago God pulled my Wife from my arms on a Hospice bed in an Estelle’s House. That was five mornings after our forty-second wedding anniversary. Last August I had a triple bypass done. Now I’m fighting an aggressive Metastatic Prostate Cancer. The WORST part is the Aloneness and Emptiness of within me.
…. Cooking .. even for one, keeps my mind busy so i don’t think. The drugs and alcohol don’t help much by themselves. Cooking is a Distraction for this 72 y/o Disabled American Veteran of the Vietnam Era. Just waiting to rejoin my Wife in the Next Step of Life. There’s no Purpose.
Hi James, I hear you, and I am so deeply sorry for the immense pain and aloneness you are carrying. Losing your wife of 42 years is a heartbreak that words can’t fully touch, especially while you’re fighting this tough battle with your health. Thank you for your service. Please know that even in the quiet of your kitchen, your life still has value. Using cooking as a distraction is a powerful way to stay grounded, and nourishing yourself is an act of strength. When the emptiness feels too heavy, please don’t face it alone, reach out to the Veterans Crisis Line at 988 (Press 1) or Vets4Warriors at 1-855-838-8255. There are people who want to walk this path with you. Hang in there. What are we cooking next? Xx
I LOVE YOUR RECIPES!!! EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER TRIED HAS BEEN AWESOME! AND YOUR PRESENTATION IS EXCELLENT!!
So sorry to hear of your divorce.
You are beautiful and successful and won’t be on the market long.
I ALWAYS use recipes from you.
Hi Karina! I have tried the chicken tikka & butter chicken recipes several times & they’re by far the best of anything else we’ve made, thank you. Time to explore more of your recipes.
Uruguay is one of the most pleasant countries I’ve visited, although your football teams are just too good for a country that size. I’m from Germany and just got inspired by your chimichurri recipe, which I will make soon. Seems to be the best one out there and I love the story behind it. After that, I’ll venture into your other recipes. Thanks for sharing.
I’m looking for savory low carb Recipies. I saw your vegetable soup recipe and can’t wait to try it. Please let me know how to find more of your low carb Recipies?
Hi Therese! I have heaps for you to enjoy here is a link to all my low carb recipes. Xx
Aloha Karina,
I just wanna let you know how stunning you look. I wanna know how and what you did? I need a glow up like that🥹 Im going through a rough patch and about to separate, desperately need help.
Hi Jennifer! Thank you for reaching out. I am working on a book to share my experiences, but I also used many of my low carb recipes to get me through the day. The most important thing you need to know is to never give up. Talk soon! Xx
Hey Jennifer, I am sorry to hear about what you’re going through. What you need more than a glow up, I guarantee you, is Jesus! We all do! He will help you through this, just seek him <3 Sending love.
Would like to get your blog. Thank you!
Hi Karina,
I’m going to make your cornbread but have a question!
You mention 1/2 c butter and only mention that large amount of butter with the cast iron skillet. If I just use a cake pan, is the only butter I need for the greasing of the pan?
Thank you, Lisa
Hi Lisa, You definitely need that 1/2 cup of melted butter for the batter itself (step 3), that’s what keeps it moist and fluffy! If you’re using a cake pan, just melt the 1/2 cup separately to add to the mixture, and use a little extra butter (or oil) to grease your pan. Enjoy Xx