Chef killed in head-on crash
The former chef-owner of Mill Valley’s Molina who teamed up with Sammy Hagar at El Paseo restaurant was killed Monday in a head-on collision in West Marin.
Todd Michael Shoberg, 42, of Petaluma, died after his Mazda 6 sport wagon drifted across the on Point Reyes-Petal um a Road and crashed into a Peterbilt dump truck, the Marin County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Division said Tuesday.
The collision was reported at about 9:10 a.m. Monday just west of the French Marin Cheese Factory, authorities said.
Shoberg was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the dump truck was taken to MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae for treatment.
The road was shutdown for several hours between Nicasio Valley Road and Novato Boulevard.
The California Highway Patrol is investigating the incident. The cause of the collision is unknown. The cause and manner of death is pending the completion of a forensic post-mortem examination and toxicology testing, which have been scheduled this week, the coroner said.
Shoberg, who most recently served as executive chef of Brewsters Beer Garden in Petaluma, was a former pro mountain biker and past Mill Valley resident.
Originally from New Haven, Michigan, Shoberg bounced around the restaurant scene a few years before settling down in Marin, where he helped reimagine the menu at Mill Valley’s Piatti Italian Restaurant, according to his staff bio.
“We are deeply saddened to hear the tragic news about Todd, who brought such creativity and acclaim to the Mill Valley culinary landscape inhis time at Piatti and Molina,” Jim Welte, spokesperson for the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “Our heartfelt thoughts are with his young family at this tremendously difficult moment.”
After his work at Molina and El Paseo, he moved on to become the executive chef at Dillon Beach Coastal Kitchen in West Marin.
Throughout his career, Shoberg was known for supporting local farmers and creating menu items around seasonal offerings, said Andy Naja-Riese, chief executive officer of the Agricultural Institute of Marin, which puts on farmers markets around the Bay Area.
“You can tell from his menus that he cared for and supported the local food system and used the produce in creative and
meaningful ways,” NajaRiese said. “I believe all of our farmers, all of us are devastated to hear this shocking and sad news.”
As a professional in the produce business, Moira Kuhn, who runs Marin Roots Farms in West Marin with her husband
Jesse, agreed.
“When you’re a farmer it can get pretty boring growing vegetables every day,” she said. “So you start changing things, trying different varieties and growing in special ways, and usually no one really notices. Todd not only noticed,
but he encouraged us to try new things. He kept us on our toes that way.
“He was more than a customer, he was also our good friend,” she said. “He contributed to the Bay Area in so many ways. We’re devastated.”