Wexford shoppers flocking to Enniscorthy to buy handmade Dubai chocolate for €15 a bar

Dubai chocolate is at the centre of a brand-new social media craze where influencers and social media users try out the unique confectionary.

Originally brought to prominence by Fix Dessert Chocolatier in Dubai, the product is a thick chocolate bar filled with pistachios and and knafeh, a crispy shredded phyllo pastry.

Mihaela Dydynski first opened the shop in 2020, right after her family moved from the UK in 2019, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, which she admitted was a very ‘brave’ decision given the timing. In the shop, customers can find a wide range of products from various countries including Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, among others

She makes the chocolate in the small bakery in the shop, but feels that the 20 square feet is not enough as demand has grown. She credits the power of social media for giving them the opportunity to try something new.

“The chocolate became very popular because of social media and people began messaging to ask if we stocked it. I tried to find many recipes on the internet and I spoke with a few friends who are bakers as well and from all of them I took a little information and made my own one,” she explained.

This new endeavour challenged Mihaela to incorporate new ingredients she had no experience with.

“I didn’t copy the recipe anywhere. I inspire myself because I have never made cakes before with Knafeh, I didn’t know this ingredient existed!” she laughed.

And though it is a lot of work, given that she does the baking by herself, she prides herself on being able to deliver handmade products, with her daughters being her enthusiastic taste-testers.

“From which I know, many shops they have the factory ones while my one is handmade – every piece of the chocolate goes through my hands. The recipe is fully mine.”

“The first time I made just a few for myself to try and see because the first batch was not what I wanted. I then tried a few more times and the feedback was amazing. I try to make as much as I can, but it is only myself who is doing it. Many times we run out of stock,” she said.

The demand has been so great, that the shop has unfortunately become the victim of someone with sticky fingers. Hoping to warn other shopkeepers, and perpetrators away, the shop posted a CCTV video of a customer slipping a chocolate bar into his pocket and leaving without paying.

Accompanying the video, which has to date garnered nearly 10,000 views, they wrote: “We are aware we have the best Dubai Chocolate , but we are making this chocolate to sell it.”

And while she posted the video as a warning to other shopkeepers, she admitted theft in similar situations is unfair for small businesses.

“We wanted to highlight with the video that something else could happen – like my wallet could disappear, my iPad or something else. The chocolate was not a huge loss but at the same time it is not fair because we are working a lot. We are a small business and not a big supermarket. For us it is a huge work,” she said.

She added that small businesses in Enniscorthy are having a tough time at the moment and has noticed a large number of other business owners closing shop due to rising costs.

However, her love of baking is propelling the business forward and although there is nothing set in place, they would love to expand this side of the business further.

“It would be nice to take it further. Maybe an opportunity will come up. I started baking cakes because that was my dream – it is not just about the baking products, it is about putting passion and love in what you do. Otherwise it is not enough.”