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 spent over 40 years running like my hair was on fire. That caused issues with my body. Now I’ve had to slow down and went back to cooking for my loved ones that were neglected along the way. This recipe looks right up my alley. Thank you.
And God bless.
I love your attitude. Congrats on being a cancer survivor. I look forward to your recipes. I am 86 and take no medication (other than a chemo pill every day for CLL). I am very healthy otherwise and very active mentally and phyically. I still cook healthy meals every day and always look forward to new ways to incorporate new ideas in our diet. Thank you. Gail
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
You’re amazing. I follow so many of You’re recipes. They remind me of foods I grew up eating 😋. So its easy to follow along. My kids looooove so many of the dishes. I’m a great cook cus I can follow a recipe 😉. When I’m lost on what to make for dinner I legit come to your site. Makes it easy to choose.
I do make a few modifications due to some food allergies at home. But the beauty about your recipes is even when I have to substitute ( dairy,wheat etc)they still taste amazing! That says alot. Thank you for sharing your love of good
Food is healing ✨️
excellent beef bourguignon recipe/recipes. thanks much. 🍻
I made many of your dishes. After moving, I could not remember the name Cafe Delites. I frantically searched to find something to help me remember. Today I found an old recipe with the name on it. I am thrilled! I have used many other recipes and none were as consistently good as yours. Happy days are here again! Just in time, since my family is coming this week.
Hi Karina,
I made your best fluffy pancake recipe and my family loved them. I myself am not a pancake person, but could not resist eating 1 and a half pancakes. They were out
of this world and I will never use boxed pancake mix again. M
I cannot wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
Hi Karina,
I made your best fluffy pancake recipe and my family loved them. I myself am not a pancake person, but could not resist eating 1 and a half pancakes. They were out
of this world and I will never use boxed pancake mix again. Making the 2nd round tonight with blueberries and blueberry sauce accompanied by breakfast sausages.
I cannot wait to try more of your recipes. Thank you!
Hi Karina,
I just found your page and wow I am so impressed with your recipes.
Tonight, I am making your recipe for French Mustard Chicken Breasts. I can’t wait to try it out, I will be making it for my daughter and my 2 beautiful grandchildren. I’m absolutely sure we are all going to love it. Along with it I am serving Asparagus, and mini croissants, lol I love that idea. i will post our review later tonight or tomorrow morning. Thank you for all your amazing recipes!
I love your BBQ pork ribs recipe and right now that’s the only one I follow but I’m sure all your recipes are delicious. I read a little about you and you look and sound like an amazing woman,all the power to you! ❤️🙏
Karina, I cook a lot,always looking for simple delicious recipes. Yesterday it was shrimp
scampi today mushroom soup both were great. Thanks for sharing your recipes and journey. T