The chocolate world has lost a great visionary, and I lost a good friend.
 
I met Robert Steinberg as a friend and neighbor in Mendocino County.  It was later, however, as his patient, that I came to recognize his focused and thoughtful intellect.  These powers of analysis and investigation set him apart from any doctor that I had encountered and became the basis of my absolute trust in his judgment and taste.
 
Robert's interest in great food and its production was incubating while he practiced medicine among the artisanal farms and wineries in the Ukiah area. He later took this interest to another level when he moved his practice to San Francisco and encountered a food community that was at the cutting edge of the culinary revolution that was reshaping American cuisine.  Flavor, source, technique, and execution were the hallmarks of the foods that he produced in his kitchen, and honing these skills became his life-long passion.

Robert’s vision to make a world-class chocolate was a personal pursuit of both flavors and knowledge.  Mindful of this talents and his enthusiasm, I joined him on this journey and found our interests and skills to be complementary.  His push for perfection and innovation made our collaboration a creative and joyful success.  High ethical standards, combined with a hunger for understanding the science of chocolate making, were his constant mantra and they helped shape Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker into the leading artisan producer in America’s ongoing chocolate revolution. 
  
I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Robert Steinberg for bringing me into the world of chocolate.  I am fortunate to have enjoyed his friendship and to have shared in his vision.  All of us at Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, as well as our colleagues at Artisan Confections, are deeply saddened by this loss and offer our sincerest condolences to his family.

~ John Scharffenberger