Robert Steinberg

Robert Steinberg, left, and John Scharffenberger of Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker, in a 1998 photo, pose with a melangeur, a machine whose granite wheels blend chocolate and sugar. Steinberg "changed chocolate from being seen as a mere sweet candy to having the status of a complex and interesting food. A new age of chocolate was started in this country with that company,” cookbook author Alice Medrich told The Times.

September 27, 2008