Vella head cheesemaker retires

Charley Malkassian has left the building.

That would be the Vella Cheese building on Second Street East.

Malkassian is the only cheesemaker who worked with all four generations of Vellas running the business, from Tom to his son Ig, to his daughter Chickie, and now her kids Gabe and Miranda who have joined the family business.

Malkassian arrived at the stone building at 315 Second St. E., a former brewery, in 1980 and by the mid-1980s had become Head Cheesemaker. Over 40 years, Malkassian helped develop and produce some of Vella’s most iconic and coveted labels, including the Dry Jack, Asiago and Mezzo Secco. He won Best of Class at the Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association for his Dry Monterey Jack Cheese in 1994 and 1995, as well as at the 1995 U.S. Championship Cheese Contest, and kept winning ever since.

Malkassian received all of the awards after Ig Vella passed away nine years ago. Ig Vella served as both a Sonoma County Supervisor and as manager of the Sonoma County Fair.

In her Planet Cheese newsletter, Janet Fletcher admiringly referred to Ig Vella as “crusty, cantankerous and opinionated.” All true. But he was also known as a very sweet, kind and sentimental man.

Chickie Vella, currently presiding over Vella Cheese in its 89th year, said by phone, “Charley would run to the back to avoid my father at all costs. If a tour came through, he was the first one out the back door. When my father was dying, I asked him if there was anything he wanted to tell me. He said no, Charley’s got it. Don’t worry.” That’s how much Ig Vella and the whole family believed in Charley Malkassian.

His wife, Hospice by the Bay nurse Kit Schmidt, said it’s fabulous to have him home. “He supports me in my work with Hospice and is a fabulous cook and cooks for me,” said Schmidt. “He’s applying his tendency toward excellence to learning to play the piano, guitar and ukulele. And now has started to develop skills in Japanese woodcraft.”

Jeff Catrambone will do his best to fill Malkassian’s shoes at the cheese shop, having started working with Malkassian at age 15. Now at Vella for 15 years, Jeff has been there half his life and is totally dedicated to making fine cheese.

Meanwhile Chickie Vella is in charge at the family cheese factory where they are not making cheese right now due to the shelter-at-home order, so all of the cheese you can buy right now are Malkassian’s cheeses.

Chickie said, “We either let one person in the store at a time, or you can call in your order and we will deliver it to you curbside. We will mail orders too, all in an effort to encourage people to stay home.”

Added Chickie: “We’ve never been through this before.” 315 Second St. E., Sonoma. 938-3232.