Remembering Eric Pease-Sartenaer, founder of Phoenix Pastificio and Cheese Board sourdough pioneer

Culinary genius Eric Pease-Sartenaer passed away peacefully at home the morning of July 6, at the age of 76. A loving and devoted father, husband, brother, son, uncle, grandson, and a longtime Berkeley resident, Eric created numerous signature Bay Area delights.

His long-running pasta shop, The Phoenix Pastificio, supplied hundreds of celebrated restaurants in the area, and during its run as a popular lunchtime cafe from 2000 to 2006, became, thanks to Eric’s expansive gift for delight in people as well as in food, a community hub.

As one longtime customer put it: “Every time you enjoy a Cheeseboard or Semifreddi’s baguette, Cheeseboard pizza, or Phoenix pasta (just to name a few) … you can thank Eric.”

His mother, Jeanne Stark Iochmans, a well-known concert pianist, lived just around the corner from Phoenix, and was a frequent guest. His son, Antoine, who practically grew up at the cafe, enjoyed many play dates and birthday parties there. Other community members also celebrated birthdays, graduations, and family reunions at The Phoenix.

Eric Pease-Sartenaer with his wife Carole Pease-Sartenaer, whom he met at the Cheese Board and married in 1980. Credit: Courtesy of his family

The cafe was full of life; families with small children were always welcome. Eric transformed leftover party balloons and wine corks into play things — inviting a little play to lighten a sometimes long work day. He always worked with music playing on the speakers, creating a lively and upbeat atmosphere. If the music stopped and he was busy, he would call out, “Musica, musica!” and someone would put on another tune.

Eric and his cafe chef, Steve Lucas, discovered a mutual enjoyment of chess, and worked the game into their before-, during-, and after-lunch schedule. Antoine learned the game when he was about seven years old, and soon began playing with any willing customer or staff member. A wonderful little chess community formed at the Phoenix. Eric’s playful, irreverent sense of fun, his tradition of delivering a warm hug as his greeting and farewell to each employee every day, his attention to detail, and his love of sharing good, strong coffee formed a forcefield in the shop. Every morning, the crew would stop work and come together over coffee to greet each other and share a brief, quiet reprieve from the hustle of the daily production.

This mix of company and cuisine was Eric’s true passion and pleasure, the way he experienced and created family, and it shaped his life’s journey.

Born in Landen, Belgium on Aug. 29, 1949, he spent his early years cooking and baking with his grandmother. He moved to the United States with his mother at age four, and his beloved sister Nanou was born six years later, their mutual adoration a lifelong gift. After spending his youth on the East Coast, the family moved to Berkeley, where they have lived since 1969.

He developed a love of math as a boy, and majored in the subject at UC Berkeley. He almost continued in that career, but, as he put it, “I loved math, but I loved food more.”

He became a member of the Cheese Board worker-owned collective in Berkeley. The collective structure suited him — food and family all rolled up into one. He found cycling companions and helped others with bicycle repairs, even building a bicycle for a coworker to ease his commute.

He developed the Cheese Board’s renowned sourdough baguette with coworker Bob Waks, and their dough recipe was later adapted for use in Cheese Board pizza. It’s also where he met Carole, a regular at the Cheese Board, and they were married in 1980.

Together, they went on to found Semifreddi’s bakery in Kensington, and later Alpine Bakery in Alpine, Ore., before family and food beckoned them back to the Bay Area, where Antoine was born in 1994. Despite his long work days, Eric always took the opportunity to play with his young son, even in the middle of the night.

Eric playing chess with Phoenix Pastificio cafe chef Steve Lukas before the lunch rush. Credit: Courtesy of his family

The special joy of family life inspired him to create a new enterprise, The Phoenix Pastificio, Eric and Carole’s third and final business, which they ran together for 27 years.

These endeavors were inspired not by wanting to be “in business,” but by a genuine love of food. Food as an expression of excellence. Food as an expression of love. Food as a gift to share. Food as family. Food as community. A former employee said to him: “You didn’t just build businesses; you shaped people.”

Eric will be remembered for his tremendous skill as a baker. Baguettes! Olive bread! Challah! Irish soda bread! Pizzas! And his mouth-watering pastas and ravioli fillings. But, in the end, perhaps what people loved the most about him were his kind, sparkling eyes, keen intellect, sweet and generous nature, and a willingness to listen and give of himself. He created family and community at every turn and touched many people’s lives. If you have a memory of Eric you’d like to share you can post it here.

Eric is survived by his wife of 47 years, Carole Pease-Sartenaer, his son Antoine Sartenaer, his sister and brother-in-law, Nanou and Teale Matteson, and his nephews Roman Stark and Alexander Matteson. He is preceded in death by his grandmother, Marie Vande Velde and his mother Jeanne Stark Iochmans.

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