Rodolphe Lindt

Rudolf Lindt (16 July 1855 – 20 February 1909), often known by his francized name Rodolphe Lindt, was a Swiss chocolate maker, chocolatier and inventor. He founded the Lindt brand of Swiss chocolate and invented the conching machine[1] and other processes to improve the quality of chocolate.[2]

Life

Lindt was born on 16 July 1855 in Bern, to pharmacist and politician Johann Rudolf Lindt and his wife Amalia Eugenia Salchli.[3] Between 1873 and 1875 he did an apprenticeship in Lausanne with the Amédée Kohler & Fils chocolate company,[4][3] then managed by the sons of Charles-Amédée Kohler. In 1879, he founded his own chocolate factory in the Mattequartier, a section of the Old City of Bern.[4]

In December 1879, he succeeded in improving the quality of chocolate by the development of the conching machine, a lengthwise stirring device which gives a finer consistency and lets undesired aromas evaporate. He was also among the first chocolate makers to add cocoa butter back into the chocolate mass (although not the very first one).[5][6] These two innovations contributed greatly to the high quality of Swiss chocolate.[7]

In 1899, Lindt sold his factory and the secret of conching to the Chocolat Sprüngli AG, who have traded as Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli AG since.[8] Sprüngli paid 1.5 million Gold francs for the marketing rights and the recipe.

Sources

• Alex Capus: Patriarchen: Zehn Portraits. Albrecht Knaus Verlag, München 2006, ISBN 3-813502-73-2