6 FEBRUARY 2020 By Jennifer Marshall With the overwhelming cost of higher education preventing many high school graduates from following their dreams, Eugenia Theodosopoulos, chef and owner of Arcadia’s Essence Bakery and Café, decided to create an apprenticeship program to help combat this problem. According to Theodosopoulos, about 450 Arizona high schools offer culinary programs. Many of these students want to continue their education, but they find it cost prohibitive. That is where Theodosopoulos’ two-year paid apprenticeship comes in. “Baking and culinary school tuition is so exorbitant,” Theodosopoulos said, adding that “when students graduate, they often don’t work in the field for long as it’s very difficult to repay student loans when they’re starting out in an industry where hands-on experience is a lot more useful than book knowledge.” Theodosopoulos created this apprenticeship, which is in its pilot year, with the support of the Arizona chapter of Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). Based at Essence, this is the first established apprenticeship of its kind in the state. In addition to handling the management of the program, C-CAP helps these budding chefs with their soft skills, like teamwork, communication and problem-solving, while Theodosopoulos teaches them the art of baking and achieving culinary excellence. “My apprenticeship program gives young people real-world, hands-on experience that leaves them free of debt. Upon completion, they’ll be certified by the state of Arizona as a Baking Apprentice, which is an internationally recognized certification, meaning they can pretty much work wherever they desire,” Theodosopoulos said. Apprentices master the technique of making croissants, breads and Parisian macarons. They also learn how to mix pastry, pie and cookie dough. In addition to baking skills, students also become proficient in the selling aspect of baking as they prepare the pastry case and croissant display every morning. On the culinary spectrum, they are introduced to produce and taught how to receive, store and prep fruits and vegetables. Currently, Theodosopoulos has two apprentices and one pre-apprentice under her tutelage. Her goal is to expand this educational opportunity into a state program, and as it grows, she hopes to broaden the range of culinary apprenticeships. “I have a young lady who is going to start as a front-of-the-house apprentice,” Theodosopoulos said, “where she’ll concentrate on how to be in charge of the dining room, customers, service and all kinds of aspects that focus on the importance of the front of the house.” Theodosopoulos is excited and optimistic about her program, describing it as “a skill for life.” As college tuition continues to soar, she feels this type of apprenticeship is going to explode in the future. “We really want to involve many other restaurants, hotels/resorts and coffee shops in the future,” Theodosopoulos said. “Here in Arizona, the hospitality industry is so extensive that we need an experienced labor pool. From hotel management to food and beverage service, the apprenticeship possibilities are endless.” Essence Bakery rolls out apprenticeship program Eugenia Theodosopoulos created the apprenticeship program so students could learn the craft without the fear of debt after certification. PHOTO: MICHAELA RAMIREZ A Countdown to Kisses! February Deals Luxurious Medical Spa in the heart of Arcadia Skin Bar | Injection Bar | Wellness Bar | Vibrant Body CALL 480-422-2058 TO SCHEDULE A PERSONAL CONSULTATION. VIBRANTSKINBAR.COM 4325 East Indian School Road, Suite 130 | Phoenix AZ 85018 FOLLOW US: Rose Quartz Renewal Facial $85 $75 OFF Any Lip Filler Syringe Get a FREE lip peptide when you book both! Buy 4 cycles get 2 CoolTone FREE $350/cycle - Buy a package of 4 and get 2 maintenance treatments for FREE February Deals Rose Quartz Renewal Facial $85

7 FEBRUARY 2020 By Mallory Gleich I t was only 100 years ago when our bustling neighborhood was mostly barren desert with Camelback Mountain looming in the background. While there was farming in the area south of the Arizona Canal, the uphill acreage between it and the mountain was in need of its own water source. It would take a lot of work and a ton of money, but there was an opportunity here and two successful real estate businessman named Seymour Jordan and Robert Grace knew it when they purchased their first 640 acres in this area in 1918. In October 1919, Jordan and Grace formed the Arcadia Water Company with businessmen Mike Krieg and Charles Keafer. The group built the first home in Arcadia (now part of the Shemer Art Center) for their irrigation foreman and started building water infrastructure to serve 1500 acres of land west of Scottsdale, north of the Arizona Canal and south of Camelback Road. Jordan named the area Arcadia and started marketing the properties as five to ten- acre parcels suitable for citrus farming. Each plot of land had access to water from the newly opened Arcadia Water Company. 1500 shares of stock for the company were assigned to the land at one share per acre. The road to success was slow-going and many farms were repossessed. By 1924, Jordan and Grace sold their holdings to other developers, but the Arcadia Water Company continued on. Citrus farming in Arcadia worked well until World War II, when Phoenix grove owners decided that the citrus business wasn’t as profitable as selling their land to build homes. The Arcadia Water Company today is a nonprofit that provides water irrigation services to the shareholders who have the rights to the water. Anyone who buys a home within the service borders gets a share of the water and the company currently services around 800 homes in the area. “I feel very prideful that we’re celebrating 100 years. There’s not a lot of 100-year-old companies out there. Because of this company, Arcadia is able to continue to be a greenbelt,” said Manager Matt Rizzo. “The things that people are able to grow here are because the irrigation exists here – we’d like to keep it that way too.” The company currently offers an incentive to those who plant citrus trees on their property – $200 will be taken off of customers’ bills for each tree planted. “We want to continue providing this service to people. Having water rights in the desert is a fantastic thing. We want to make ourselves available to our customers,” said Rizzo. “We want the neighborhood to know we’re here for them, and we exist only because of them.” Arcadia Water Company celebrates 100 years HOW IT WORKS: Arcadia Water Company draws groundwater and fills five deep-water wells. The wells pump water to a reservoir that’s located underneath the company’s parking lot – it holds around 375,000 gallons. From there, the main lines follow Camelback Road to 64th Street, at which time the lower line curves south down 64th Street to Exeter all the way to 44th Street. The upper water line stays through Camelback Road. Once the water reaches the neighborhoods, the irrigators take over, opening and closing the valves to each individual house. For more: arcadiawatercompany.weebly.com. The current members of the AWC team: Tyler Schultz, Keiber Rivas, Shawn Hutt, Charles Fairris, Carl Goodman, Kristoffer Williams, John Matigan, Carter Goodwin, Danny Urrutia and Cindy Regna. PHOTOS COURTESY OF MATT RIZZO Water well during construction in 1996. District boundary established in 1919 Arcadia Water Service water distribution sub-divisions ARCADIA WATER COMPANY WATER DISTRIBUTION MAP ARCADIA WATER COMPANY 44th St. Scottsdale Road Indian School Road Camelback Road