Denver Catholic

4 DECEMBER 8-21, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC Cover Story FROM THEOLOGY TO...CHOCOLATE? The D'Onofrio family are longtime parishioners of Christ the King Parish, which is where Star- gazer's story begins. After majoring in International Studies at the Univer- sity of Denver, Karen spent two years in the Congo doing missionary work with the Kenoshan Daughters of Char- ity. Serving the people of Africa was a life-changing experience for Karen, but upon her return, she decided she wanted to spend time in her own com- munity. However, she also returned with a new zeal for the faith and began pursuing a master's degree in Theology through the Augustine Institute. "Most AI grads do [something in] reli- gious education, but I wasn't as inter- ested in that," Karen said. "I saw it more as a life degree — knowing more about my faith would just help me in life." Karen graduated from the AI in 2015 and was met by another crossroads in her life. What was next? As it happened, her life would take an unexpected turn, one that neither her nor her dad nor any of her family would have ever guessed but has been a blessing from the start.± It started with a chocolatier the D'Onofrio family had gone to for years. John had become friendly with him over the years, and upon his retirement, they considered taking over his shop. While that didn't end up happening, Karen, fresh out of the AI with a the- ology degree and no idea of what to do next, did what any reasonable theol- ogy graduate would do: She took on an apprenticeship with the family choco- latier and learned how to make choco- late. While John and his wife, Norene, initially questioned why Karen had spent all that time studying theology only to go and start making chocolate, they saw how happy it made her. "Every time I went to the choco- late shop and saw her working in the back, she had a smile on her face," John recalled. "That was what was most important for me." After diving into all things chocolate and learning everything there was to know, Karen became a master choco- latier. Next came the fun part: making chocolate. "I set up shop in our dining room and got to work," Karen said with a laugh. The first iteration of what would become Stargazer began by giving out the chocolates to friends and family. Eventually, they decided to "go for it" as a full-fledged business, Karen said. After temporarily moving shop to a commissary kitchen in Montbello, Father Daniel Leonard, who was pastor of Christ the King at the time, o¨ered the parish's kitchen as Karen's new working space. John, who has a back- ground as a lawyer, jumped through the arduous hurdles of getting Christ the King 's kitchen the proper licenses to be able to sell out of.± While Stargazer worked out of Christ the King Parish, John a¨ectionately remembers being called Willy Wonka by the children there because of all the chocolate he constantly had with him. From the beginning, a key part of Stargazer has been giving back to the community, and it started at the parish. "We started making our chocolate there, " John said. "We would have sales in the church hall after certain Masses. We gave all of our profits from those sales to the school there." A FAMILY AFFAIR After growing steadily and getting a handle on production, it was time for Stargazer to find a more permanent home. Located at 700 Colorado Blvd., next to Snooze and across from Trader Joe's, Stargazer o¨ers tasty treats for all to enjoy, and has added a selection of hot beverages like co¨ee and, of course, hot cocoa, to its menu. They can even create custom chocolate bars with corporate logos and other personalized elements, which they have done for St. John Vian- ney Theological Seminary in the past. Stargazer has operated as a family a¨air since the beginning. John han- dles the business and marketing side of things, Karen's brother, Tim, is the assistant chocolatier for the shop, and Karen's mom Norene takes care of everything else. "Without [my mom], we would fall apart," Karen said. "She packages almost everything, she finds the boxes we need...anything we need, she'll take care of." The name Stargazer comes from the stargazer lily, which most Catho- lics know is an allusion to St. Joseph, the patron saint of workers. They even have an image of St. Joseph hanging on the wall of their shop. "We also really like the name Star- gazer because it's dreamy and romantic and [it's] chocolate," Karen said. "It fit with the whole feeling of what we were going for." You won't find free Wi-Fi or a drive- thru window at Stargazer. What you will find is a cozy, welcoming atmosphere that invites face-to-face conversation, fellowship, and of course, the chance to indulge in delicious chocolate. Karen insists that her theology back- ground and understanding of the faith comes in handy when she's making the chocolates. In fact, from a spiritual per- spective, there's a lot more to chocolate than people realize, she said. "I try to make my chocolates beau- tiful and o¨ering that beauty to the world is also something that is rooted in my faith — to make something that looks beautiful and tastes beautiful and can bring you joy," she said. "I think chocolate is really something that has a theological value to it because it grows on the cacao tree and it's very di¨erent. Humans have to engage our intellect that God gave us to figure out how to make chocolate from the cacao bean." These nods to Catholicism, however subtle, are intentional on the part of Stargazer, even though Karen jokes about having a "theologically-compe- tent sta¨." The faith of the D'Onofrio family isn't just the foundation of how they treat other people; it is the heart of how they run their business. John recalled inviting an older woman wait- ing for a table at Snooze to come into the shop to have a seat. When the woman remarked that she wasn't going to buy anything, John said he didn't ask her to. He simply asked her to come sit down. "It's that simple," he said. "You don't have to look real far to be a good Chris- tian or a good Catholic. Opportunities abound." Simplicity is what it's all about for Karen, John and the rest of the D'On- ofrio family, who want Stargazer to be known as a business that simply brings joy to the community. "It's such a happy business," Karen said. "It's joyful." Family-owned Stargazer Fine Chocolates is in the business of joy « Karen D'Onfo- rio (left), along with her father John (right) and the rest of her family, opened Stargazer Fine Choco- lates in 2017. PHOTOS BY MOIRA CULLINGS A custom chocolate with the St. John Vianney Seminary crest.

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