{"id":284,"date":"2014-06-06T10:45:29","date_gmt":"2014-06-05T23:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/liberation2karina.wordpress.com\/?page_id=1"},"modified":"2026-05-25T02:42:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:42:47","slug":"about-karina","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cafedelites.com\/about-karina\/","title":{"rendered":"About Karina"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Food and I have had a long, incredibly complicated love story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For years, I chased the elusive \u201chow 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Story Behind the Screen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cafe Delites didn\u2019t 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\u2019t wish on anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019t recognise the person looking back. I had built something incredible, but I had lost who I was in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, this journey is about more than recipes or milestones. It\u2019s about finding my way back, piece by piece, and learning that I can\u2019t keep feeding the world if I\u2019m still starving myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Experience and Recognition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am incredibly humbled to see my creations traveling so far. From being featured on platforms like Country Living<\/a>, Delish<\/a>, Buzzfeed<\/a>, Cosmopolitan, Huffpost<\/a>, BRIT + CO<\/a>, Australia Best Recipes<\/a>, Food Network and Epicurious to chatting about my passion for Zumba on Channel 7\u2019s Today Tonight. It\u2019s been such a whirlwind!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of my absolute favorite moments was winning the Best Recipes Home Cook Hero Competition. My Lamington French Toast with Raspberry Jam Syrup<\/a> <\/a>holds such a special place in my heart, it’s that classic Aussie flavor we love, but with a fun, indulgent twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the kitchen, I\u2019ve had the joy of partnering with brands like Natvia to create my Naughty + Nice E-book (those Banana Bread Blondies are a must try, I promise!), and using my voice to support important causes like the Lymphoma Coalition<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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The Comeback<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\"Karina<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Karina<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am so incredibly grateful you are here. Whether you are here for the famous Deviled Potatoes<\/a>, the Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese<\/a>, or just a safe space to connect over our shared journeys, you are welcome at my table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Food and I have had a long, incredibly complicated love story. 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