A CHANCE meeting in a Toowoomba store has led two passionate cooks to start a family together.

Amy Olsen and Joel Bunyan are the couple behind Amy's Country Kitchen in Allora.

Ms Olsen, 31, is originally from Clifton and bought the business - originally named Josephine's Country Cuppa - from her aunt in 2009.

Mr Bunyan, a 32-year-old trained chef who has worked around Australia and in Europe, had been shopping in kitchen supply store TRS when he overheard the name of Ms Olsen's business.

"I didn't have the guts to say something to her right then but someone I knew came out here, visited the cafe and mentioned I'd told her about the cafe," Mr Bunyan said.

"I came out here and we met and three months later we were engaged.

"Eventually we had to make the decision of whether or not I would move here or we would stay in Toowoomba; it was probably only a year after we met that I sold my cafe in Toowoomba.

"I'm from Coffs Harbour and I don't like the city all that much so I decided I'd rather come out here. I'd always wanted to live on acreage out in the country."

The couple put their wedding on hold after the birth of their two daughters, three-year-old Sunny and Poppy, nearly 2.

"Amy's pregnancy with Poppy was completely normal through all the scans and tests," Mr Bunyan said.

"On January 10 last year Amy woke me up in the middle of the night and she was going into labour.

"We drove straight to Warwick Hospital and we would have only been there 20 minutes and Poppy was born.

"She didn't cry and the midwife put her under heat lamps and carried her to Amy to try and feed but she wouldn't, and she was trying to feed her with a syringe."

What happened next was the beginning of a journey the parents never expected to be on.

"She started going black and blue in the face," Ms Olsen said.

"The midwife took her off me without saying anything and just ran down the hallway with her; we looked at each other for what felt like a long time before we went after her.

"Her oxygen level had dropped 35% in just a few hours so Careflight came to take her to the Royal Brisbane and Poppy was put in intensive care.

"We hadn't slept in 48 hours and we were so worried."

After about five days, a neurosurgeon with the Lady Cilento Children's Hospital delivered the heartbreaking news.

"She told us Poppy's cerebellum is undeveloped and she will have cerebral palsy," Mr Bunyan said.

"She will never be able to talk or walk, and she will mostly likely never be able to eat properly; she said there was nothing we could do but take her home and love her.

"That was the worst day because we knew something was wrong but we had been holding onto hope and this was like being smacked in the face with it really hard.

"We walked back to the Ronald McDonald in complete silence but since that day we've tried to be positive about everything.

"We don't feel sorry for ourselves and we don't want anyone else to, even though a lot of people around town probably know of her disability and the local support has been amazing."

Despite the hardships, the couple said having a child with a disability has bolstered their determination to have their cafe to flourish.

"It can be a bit frustrating because mentally she's there and she can follow movement and pick up on voice, but the cerebellum controls co-ordination and movement so she's not even able to grasp toys," Ms Olsen said.

"Sunny will go up to her and tell her she loves Poppy.

"She's very caring and I think she will be a more loving person as a result because a lot of other kids might shy away from someone with a disability or difference.

"We've been a bit torn about having another child, we would like to have one for Sunny but will do genetics testing to see if there might be other complications."

"Amy is really the champion, she takes Poppy to her physio and other appointments in Brisbane while I'm working 60 hour weeks," Mr Bunyan said.

"We make a good team and it's made us a lot more driven to succeed in the business and when you love what you do it makes it easy for us to come to work.

"We're working twice as hard to make sure we don't have to worry as much about what Poppy's future will be like when we get old.

"We've hold off our wedding but we're in no rush; if it happens in a year or five years makes no difference to us."

The couple relocated to Deuchar in 2011 while growing the business and nurturing their young family.

"I do a lot of the baking," Ms Olsen said.

"I've always had a bit of a sweet tooth and homemade is best."

"Early on the cafe was a lot more takeaway sort of items and we've been adding new things along the way," Mr Bunyan said.

"We offer homemade cakes and daily specials, and the gluten-free cakes we buy in just for safety reasons.

"We've recently changed our beans to Byron Bay Coffee and I think people are appreciating the quality as we've gone from using two or three kilos a week to 15."