Inna Asryan: "I'm not afraid of experimenting!"

I am from Syunik, born and raised in Halidzor, which is an incredibly beautiful place among mountains and rocks. She studied in Yerevan, and from the age of 16, she worked in the service sector. She has risen from a waitress to a general manager. She also worked at the “TaTever” ropeway in Tatev, and as a manager at the Toon Armeni guest house in Dilijan. Then there was a period when I returned to Yerevan.  

After so many searches and “wanderings”, I realized that Yerevan is not my city. It is very noisy and too busy. It sounds contradictory because I am a very active person. However, the calmness of Dilijan (with all of its pros and cons) attracted me. It attracted me but did not change my character.

I felt that it was time to do something, something of my own, for the city, for its inhabitants. My hobby was baking desserts. Then I had a small online store with delivery. That’s why I decided to work in this sphere.

September 18, 2021, was Darchin pastry and café’s birthday! I have invested all my internal resources in this project.

I love my job, otherwise, how would I keep afloat? I do everything myself and for the time being, I stick to the idea of the “one person concept”. Early in the morning, I buy fresh products, I serve the visitors myself, I clean myself, I wash the dishes myself, and I handle the logistics myself. And, of course, I make my desserts. And here I go for total creative freedom. Every visitor inspires me to experiment. I want to cook something that suits this particular person, his mood. And what interesting, different people come to Darchin! These are people of different professions, different views, with various, unusual hobbies. These are both locals and visitors.

I love new people, I like socializing. We talk here, share our impressions, and discuss the most incredible things.

Moreover, the concept of my cafeteria is about only natural ingredients, local berries and fruits, and without chemical additives and dyes, I don’t make cream and marzipan. I also offer vegan desserts, which the locals were skeptical of at first. And now my vegan carrot cake is no longer troubling, it can be so delicious. And that's all that I am. I’m not afraid of experimenting, of being misunderstood.

In the flow of all this drive, even when the tourist season is in full swing, I stop for a while and look at Dilijan. It is still calm and tranquil. The birds are singing, it's green all around, and the sunsets are so breathtaking here!

People often ask me: “How do you stay there, as it’s boring and uninteresting there.” But I answer that this is not the case, we create activity and vivid emotions. You have to be willing to live, create, and see the possibilities.

Do I consider myself a Dilijan citizen? Yes! And in native Syunik, they take no offense at all.

Inna Asryan, the founder of Darchin pastry and cafe.

P.S. In November 2023, Inna flew to India to meet new projects, but all her sweets and secret ingredients remain unchanged. In addition, new ones are being added, for example, the Artsakh baklava. Now Darchin pastry and cafe is in the safe hands of Leva Hovakimyan, the founder of the Traveler's House cafe, and Inna is always in touch and shares her experience and recipes.

Read more about the Darchin pastry and cafe coffee shop at the link.