There was a sad obit in the LA Times this weekend: Robert Steinberg, who founded Scharffen Berger chocolate, passed away. They called him the creator of the “new age of chocolate.” I love his smile on the entry page! I know I would have liked him.

When I buy Scharffen Berger at Whole Foods, it doesn’t taste that fresh to me, but one of their reps gave me a bar of their baking chocolate at one of the Western Foodservice Shows, and it was quite good! This was like 4 years ago, before I had blogs, so I can’t remember the details, unfortunately.

Here’s a review at Chocolate Obsession that compares one of their bars to wine. I’ve noticed several reviewers do this. I don’t understand wine reviews. This reviewer at Candy Addict says she prefers their milk chocolate bars to the dark chocolate. The Food Paper agrees with me on the baking chocolate, and says:

Martha Stewart and Julia Child both are fond of it.

Then there’s Pioneer Woman’s comparison baking of brownies with Baker’s,  a Betty Crocker box mix, and Scharffen-Berger chocolate, on Serious Eats. Take a look. SB won.

Still. Total hyperbole in the Times article.  People can say whatever they want, but everyone knows that the new age of chocolate started when my chocolate book, “What Do Women REALLY Want? Chocolate!,” was published, in 2004.

That was the beginning, but of course this sort of movement never does have an ending. To that purpose, I’m pleased to announce that I just bought a new domain:  chocolatecartoons.com. Read Eat it and weep. The new chocolate.

Good try, though, Mr. Steinberg.

“Oh, my. It smells wonderful in here, Iris. Chocolate-scented kitty litter?”