Grafton Village Cheese announces the appointments of Elena Santogade and Vince Razionale to their professional team. Grafton Cheese produces award-winning aged Vermont cheddar and specialty cheeses and is a mission-driven business of the nonprofit Windham Foundation.
Santogade takes over as Tri-State Sales Manager, based in New York. She will work with retailers, restaurants, and distributors to promote Grafton Village Cheese products in the greater New York region. Elena has over a decade of experience in sales and marketing, from roles in the publishing industry, not-for-profit advocacy and specialty food. She has managed three distinct cheese-focused retail operations in New York City, and worked with Connecticut-based Arethusa Farm in 2014 on product development and sales. Most recently Elena was the General Manager of Retail at Le District, a sprawling food and restaurant destination in lower Manhattan. Elena is an American Cheese Society Certified Cheese Professional (ACS CCP®).
Razionale joins as Director of Cave Program and Sensory Analysis, focusing on grading, affinage, sensory evaluation, and development. Vince has been working in the food and hospitality industry for nearly 15 years. His cheese career started at Formaggio Kitchen, where he was a store manager and the domestic cheese buyer for nearly 3 years. After that, he and his family moved to the Northeast Kingdom in Vermont at the Cellars at Jasper Hill, where he developed a role in sales, tasting, inventory management, contest entry selection, and order logistics.
Joe Green, the Head Cheesemonger for the Grafton Village Cheese retail cheese shop, has been selected as an official cheesemonger for the American Cheese Society annual convention in Des Moines, Iowa. Joe joined Grafton in December 2014 and is an ACS CCP®. Prior to joining Grafton’s team, he was with Di Bruno Brothers in Philadelphia, a premier cheese and specialty food retailer.
Amy Sisti-Baum will be the first Mid-Atlantic Sales Manager for Grafton Village Cheese, as she relocates from New York to North Carolina. Amy has been with Grafton for two years and is an ACS CCP®. Amy originally joined the Grafton team as the New York Sales Manager, and prior to that, she held several key positions in the specialty cheese and food industry.
About Grafton Village Cheese
Grafton Village Cheese of Grafton, Vt., was founded in 1892 as the Grafton Cooperative Cheese Company, which converted surplus milk from local dairy farmers into cheese. Today, Grafton Cheese makes aged cheddar and specialty cheeses by hand that are recognized for quality and taste on a worldwide scale. The company produces two Grafton branded lines in Grafton and in Brattleboro, Vt. using milk from small family farms: the Grafton Village line of aged cheddars and the Cave Aged line of specialty cheeses. Grafton Cheese is a mission driven business of the nonprofit Windham Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting Vermont’s rural communities. More on Grafton Cheese can be found at GraftonVillageCheese.com, Twitter and Instagram @graftoncheese and Facebook/graftonvillagecheese.
About the Windham Foundation
Headquartered in Grafton, Vermont, the Windham Foundation is an operating foundation engaged in philanthropic, charitable and educational activities. Since its inception in 1963, its mission is to promote the vitality of Grafton and Vermont’s rural communities through its philanthropic and educational programs and its subsidiaries whose operations contribute to these endeavors. The Foundation is the owner of Grafton Village Cheese Co. and the Grafton Inn.