A former professional football player swapped pitches for pastry, and now boasts his own successful bakery business.
Marius Dogaru is the owner and founder of The Butterholic, a micro-bakery that's known and loved across Liverpool for its high-end sweet treats and elaborate creations. The Kirkby-based chef, originally from Bucharest, used to play football for Romania's famed Steaua Bucharest until a knee injury saw his sports career come to an end.
A trip to Paris in his 20s ignited a desire to become a pastry chef. Now, the passionate baker runs The Butterholic, a hit micro-bakery that was started in the kitchen of the home he shares with his wife, Adelina Blanaru - the brand manager.
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Speaking to The ECHO, Marcus said: "I would say that from the age of 20, after my visit in Paris and my training there, being a pastry chef was something that I wanted to pursue, but I used to be a professional football player and played football since I was a child.
"The Butterholic started from our own kitchen. In 2021, I decided it was time to build my own business and I started selling pastries to neighbours and friends. As the demand grew rapidly, the domestic kitchen and oven I was using were no longer suitable, so I was looking to rent a unit and invest more in the business.
"However, because this was happening in the pandemic, there were no suitable units available to rent. The only solution was to turn the garage into a bakery, which was what we did. At the time, I also had two other jobs as a pastry chef, so I would prepare stock in the evening, sleep for a few hours, wake up to bake and prepare my own products and then deliver the pastries. Then, I would have to drive to the bakeries I worked for, one being in Manchester, and the other in Ingleton.
"We received such positive feedback that after a short while I was able to pursue my dream of just working for myself and focus on The Butterholic entirely. The love shown by the community was incredible and we quickly became popular in Liverpool, as well as the Wirral, Crosby and Formby."
Marius' friends and family have always been incredibly supportive of his passion, but he took some convincing to progress with his own business. He continued: "My friends and family always pushed me to start my own business, but I was lacking the confidence at the time. I knew that I was really good at making pastries, but I wasn't confident in starting a business on my own.
"Everyone was surprised that they had finally managed to convince me to try and bake some products at home and see how it goes. I love having the opportunity to be creative and make my own products. I also like having that personal relationship with my customers, which always gives me such positive energy and a lot of motivation."
Like many independent businesses, Marius initially struggled with the creation of The Butterholic, having to learn the ropes at a rapid pace to maintain interest and demand from customers. He said: "There are lots of challenges when you are running your own business. I had to learn so much in such a short period of time, how to organise my time better, how to be a good leader, how to complete different types of paperwork, how to manage finances. Running your own business is a constant learning journey, but that is the beauty of it as well."
The reaction of the community has been particularly touching for Marius and Adelina. The couple's business Instagram page already boasts more than 9,000 followers and their decadent creations regularly sell out. The Butterholic will be launching a new menu in autumn, alongside a range of new products.
Marius said: "We are always very grateful for the love shown. We have grown a lot and we now have a beautiful team that is very passionate about creating the best possible products that we can offer."
After successfully realising their dream, Marius and Adelina have another in the pipeline. He added: "Short term, we hope that we will soon be able to extend our delivery days and be open seven days a week.
“Our biggest dream though is to open our own shop, where customers can enjoy a cup of coffee and our pastries, but they can also see us preparing the products. [I hope people will] keep supporting independent businesses."
The Butterholic products are stocked in a range of cafes and stores across Liverpool and beyond, including Epicerie Fine, Duke Street Market, Skaus, Crosby Coffee on Lark Lane, Root Coffee and more. It's also stocked in Wirral, Crosby, Formby and Southport.
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