DoChéri Opens in Darien with Artisan European Chocolate

Summertime in Europe means walking along the Seine, swimming in the Cinque Terre, and enjoying all the pastries and chocolate Europe has to offer. But, if you're like me and staying stateside this season, lucky for you, we've got Europe at home.

At DoChéri in Darien, you'll find a Parisian-inspired interior and French-style chocolates infused with Ukrainian artistry. Founded by Maryna Steadman, DoChéri opened just a few months ago and is quickly becoming everyone's summer bucket-list stop.

Chocolate wasn't always Maryna's dream. Eight years ago, she was living in Ukraine and working in finance, spending more than a decade building a career in banking. But after moving to the United States, a new country ignited a new question: What can I do that I really love?

Creativity had always been part of who she was. Her grandfather was an artist, and growing up, Maryna was constantly painting, cooking, and creating. She was especially inspired by the artistry of Ukrainian desserts, where sweets aren't just something you eat—they're an experience. Beautifully crafted, thoughtfully designed, and almost too pretty to touch.

After moving to the U.S., Maryna noticed something was missing- the same style of artistic pastries she had grown up with. After countless hours watching talented pastry chefs online, she decided to learn how to make them herself.

Traveling back and forth between Ukraine and the United States, Maryna enrolled in culinary courses, studying in Ukraine, taking online classes in the United States, and spending hours practicing in her tiny kitchen, creating intricate desserts. She knew she wanted to turn her passion into a business, but there wasn't much of a market for the European-style pastries she loved. Then, one night, inspiration struck. Steadman says it quite literally came to her in a dream.

Chocolate.

It's universally loved and appreciated by people of every age. Maryna enrolled in a chocolate-focused course in Ukraine and dedicated herself to becoming a  master chocolatier—a creative outlet, even during the war in her home country. Fast forward: she spent the next three years working out of a small commercial kitchen in Norwalk, launched her website in 2022, and slowly built a following. Soon enough, she was popping up at markets, holiday shops, and vendor events across Fairfield County.

Maryna's chocolates are made with the finest European ingredients and come in a wide variety of flavors. Key lime. Banana. Dulce de leche. Baileys with pistachio. Dubai chocolate. You'll typically find around 16 inspired flavors to choose from, and they're always evolving with the seasons. She also offers truffles, bonbons, bars, chocolate-covered oranges, coated pretzels, and more. In the spring, she crafted stunning chocolate eggs. This summer, it's frozen hot chocolate, which I can confirm is incredible. In the fall, expect flavors like pumpkin chai, apple caramel, and cranberry. Then winter brings advent calendars, hot chocolate bombs, orange, mint, and plenty of holiday favorites.

When the storefront on Post Road became available, DoChéri—named in homage to her two incredible daughters—became the permanent home for everything Maryna had spent years building: a shop filled with handcrafted chocolates, her edible works of art. Not only a business, but a way to bring a little piece of home to her new community. The hope is that one day, her daughters—and now her son, too—will take on roles in the shop, learning from Maryna and showcasing their own creativity through chocolate.

And the plans for DoChéri don't stop with chocolate. Maryna hopes to introduce workshops for both adults and kids, giving people the chance to create a little edible art of their own. According to Steadman, chocolate should be an experience. From walking into the shop to picking out flavors you may never have thought to try, admiring the hours (sometimes days) of work that go into each piece. Some of these little desserts hold just as much art on the inside as they do on the outside, so Maryna urges guests to look inside! And while they almost seem too beautiful to eat, we all know that's the best part.

Although the storefront only soft-opened this May, Steadman says one of the most rewarding parts has been how welcoming the community has been—supportive, curious, and willing to experience everything DoChéri has to offer.