Petaluma, CA: After twenty-five years as the Director of the US Information Office for the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano, the official entity for the King of Cheeses in Italy, Nancy Radke is handing over her veritable crown to two successors, Danielle Caponi Bolla and Federico Bolla of Ponte PR & Marketing.
Radke’s agency, Good Food Creative, took on the task of representing Parmigiano Reggiano® cheese throughout the United States in 1990. During her tenure, she developed an information office that connected with retail, trade and consumers throughout the United States with a focus on education and building brand awareness.
After extended time spent living in Italy, Radke, a trained interior designer, chose to follow her passion for regional Italian food thus kicking off an exciting career that would span almost four decades. Years before much of America would be introduced to the authentic foods of Italy, vastly different than the spaghetti and meatballs to which most were accustomed, Radke taught Northern Italian cooking classes in Washington DC in the late 70s, created regional Italian cooking school curriculums, developed Italian restaurant menus and wrote a celebrated Italian food-focused newsletter in the days before desktop publishing.
This passion and drive caught the attention of officials at the Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano and led her to create a unique new position with the consortium.
During her time as the official spokesperson for Parmigiano Reggiano in the United States, Radke has been responsible for developing programs for everything from public relations and advertising to website development and educational trainings. She has appeared frequently on national cooking shows, testified before the Parliament of the European Union in Brussels about Parmigiano Reggiano’s unique production, legally protected the cheese’s registered certification marks, sued infringers and diligently monitored labeling and retail practices in the US. She has maintained close relations and supported importers, exporters, retailers and consumers throughout the country.
Nancy has been recognized in the United States as a Certified Culinary Professional, and in 2014 was inducted as a Garde and Juré into France’s prestigious Guild Internationale des Fromagers (The International Guild of Cheese Experts). Recently the Consorzio awarded her the Coltello d’Oro (gold cheese knife), their highest honor.
Until now the US office for Parmigiano Reggiano has been based in Syracuse, New York while the new office, Ponte PR & Marketing, is based in Petaluma in Northern California wine country.
Danielle Caponi Bolla and Federico Bolla, are the husband and wife team who run Ponte PR & Marketing. Caponi Bolla, born in San Francisco, has a degree in communications and started her career as a copywriter in Italy. After 12 years working in the food and hospitality sectors at boutique PR & marketing agencies and private companies in the US and abroad she founded Ponte PR in 2011. Prior to that she was the director of marketing for the San Francisco based Italian food chain, A.G. Ferrari Foods where she started working closely with Radke on Parmigiano Reggiano projects.
After finishing his studies in psychology, Federico Bolla, born in Turin, Italy started his career in marketing, graphic design and computer science though because of being Italian born, he has an innate respect for and knowledge of Italian food. Ponte PR & Marketing was hired to collaborate on projects for Parmigiano Reggiano in San Francisco, Chicago and Atlanta giving Bolla the opportunity to work directly with Radke on multiple occasions.
The official role of the US information office for Parmigiano Reggiano is to provide support and information to retailers, importers, consumers and journalists. An important task of the US office is to protect the registered certification marks and renown of Parmigiano Reggiano.
The two offices are coordinating on projects throughout 2015 with Ponte PR & Marketing taking over the U.S. Information Office in conjunction with the timing of the summer edition of the Fancy Food Show in New York City. A trade event took place on Saturday, June 27th at Giovanni Rana Pastificio and Cucina to honor Radke and officially announce the change of Consorzio representation.
Successful initiatives including media events around the country that educate participants on the ages and aromas of Parmigiano Reggiano will continue. This particular event has already been an overwhelming success in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco. Austin, Texas is the next chosen locale in which local food focused journalists and bloggers will attend to participate in a sensorial analysis. Also continuing this fall throughout the U.S. are a series of Parmigiano Reggiano Academy classes offered by small cheese shops dedicated to consumer education.
Source: Consorzio del Formaggio Parmigiano-Reggiano