The Chocolate Brand Julia Child Considered The Best In The US

For someone revered as the grande dame of modern French cuisine, it can't be said that Julia Child was a food snob. On the contrary; for instance, Child loved Hellmann's, a classic grocery store brand of mayo, in her tuna salad sandwiches. No stranger to American eating as a child of California, Child even had positive words to share about McDonald's fries. That said, when it came to chocolate, Julia Child preferred Scharffen Berger, an elevated brand that she declared was the easily the best U.S. chocolate she'd ever had.

Never heard of Scharffen Berger? You probably aren't alone. Since the 2008 death of founder Robert Steinberg, Scharffen Berger's fortunes have risen and fallen several times, with the company changing hands more than once. Scharffen Berger was acquired by Harry & David in late 2024, paving the way for its chocolate to make its way into the brand's premium gift baskets.

Before all that, Scharffen Berger was founded in 1996 and soon rose to prominence as a gourmet chocolatier, with its major bragging right being the fact that it crafted its own chocolate from growing the cacao beans onward — a manufacturing process popularly known as "bean to bar." It was also among the first American chocolate brands to label its wares with the cacao percentage and provenance of the beans.

There are many varieties of chocolate, and the "best" kind depends on what you plan to use it for. Scharffen Berger's handcrafted, high-cacao chocolate lends itself to savoring, making it the perfect treat for folks who might describe themselves as food snobs. Substituting chocolate bars for chocolate chips in cookies is a pro move, but using Scharffen Berger's Fine Artisan Semisweet Dark Chocolate Baking Chunks in your dessert can elevate your homemade treats from exceptional to transcendent.

Robert Steinberg named his chocolate company after his business partner, winemaker John Scharffenberger. Scharffenberger knew a thing or two about the importance of sourcing the finest raw materials to create a quality product and, along with Steinberg, brought the same ethos to Scharffen Berger. Small growers, small batches, and vintage machinery defined their work, which resulted in a chocolate that even food luminaries like Julia Child admired.