Special Announcement: Welcome Our 1st Prepped Fall Cohort

In Entrepreneurship + Innovation at ASU we love working with entrepreneurs from various sectors, backgrounds, and walks of life. We are always looking to innovate on our programs and offer services to students and the community that are unique and impactful, which is why we are especially excited about our newest program called Prepped. Prepped is a unique food entrepreneurship training program that is focused on serving mobile food entrepreneurs. This includes people who have food carts, catering businesses, farmer’s market products, and food trucks.   Through a competitive application process, we received over 60 applicants for our inaugural cohort and we accepted 15 businesses to join our Fall Cohort which will take place on the ASU Downtown Phoenix campus. We are excited to announce the names of the companies and participants to you today, and we look forward to sharing more in depth information and stories about each inspiring food entrepreneur every week. Please be sure to check back here to learn more about each entrepreneur, the program, and the Spring Cohort application. You can also follow us on social media using the hashtag #PreppedAZ.

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Name: Elizabeth Bayer and Dustin Chaffin Company Name: Where’s Waffle? Description: It all started in Eugene, Oregon, where we first discovered Liege waffles. We became obsessed and spent the next 6 years developing and tweaking the recipe for the best waffles you’ve ever had. We hand-make our dough from scratch using the best ingredients. It’s a three hour mixing, resting, and rising process for one batch of the sweet waffles. Name: Andrés Carbajal Company Name: Karasu Sushi Description: Our strategy is simple: we are going to succeed by offering our customers a combination of great, tasty, healthy and interesting food, and on top of that, give all people involved (employees, customers etc) environmental/ecological consciousness as well. Eating and working at “Karasu Sushi and Fusion Bar” will feel like having contributed to Arizona’s nature conservation and economic growth, without the sacrifice of flavor. Name: Emilene Carrillo Company Name: Baja Roots Description: My business is authentic Baja style street tacos. I pride myself in the use of fresh ingredients that are locally sourced and do my best to understand the community, which I serve in order to cater to their palate when it comes to my product. I have a close connection with this style of tacos, as it is a part of my culture and history. I have done years of research about the products in Tijuana Mexico and have a deep understanding of what makes this product authentic. Name: Sandra and Roberto Flores Company Name: Azukar Coffee Description: Latin Coffee House with unique authentic menu items/new flavors and a Latin modern vibe. Name: Jose and Leticia Gamiz Company Name: Mi Vegana Madre Description: We are a 100% plant based Mexican food trailer. Name: Ricky Garcia Company Name: Mundo de Sabores Description: Mundo de Sabores is a catering service serving international Latino cuisine. We focus on serving an innovative, healthy and delicious food. We have optional meals, regular, vegetarian and vegan food, our products are based on combining our Latino cuisine ingredients with others cuisine of the world. Name: Kimberly Goode Company Name: Goode Eats and Sweets Description: My products are soul food and retro desserts (banana pudding, peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, etc.). Currently I bake from home, with plans to expand into a commercial space where I can expand my menu into soul food, catering. I bake around 10 different cakes, 8 pies, cookies, bread puddings and a few different fruit cobblers. Name: Devereaux Jackson Company Name: Q-Tsie Description: Q-Tsie is Edible Gift Marketing. Q-Tsie enables our clients to connect in a meaningful way with their customers by showing gratitude for closed business. We do this by using high quality baked goods arranged in packaging customized to our clients branding choices. These packages are then personally delivered to each customer’s place of business. The packages we create are an excellent way to show appreciation, but they are also an effective tool to generate referrals. Name: Ceci Melendez Company Name: The Cake Art Studio Description: The Cake Art Studio is a place where you can find a special creation that will delight the eyes and sweet tooth of any recipient. We design custom Cakes and 3D cookies for each of our clients. Name: Felipe Olivas Company Name: Union Pochteca Description: Union Pochteca is a full service food truck support business and commissary. Name: Pedro Ortiz Company Name: El Carrito Description: Our business is going to be a traditional Mexican food experience with the experience of a food truck. We plan on running a line of food from Home made sopes to freshly made fish tacos and Ceviche. Our goal is to make all foods from scratch and offer the highest quality pf foods possible. Name: Martin Ramos Company Name: El Oyster Cevicheria Food Truck Description: Fresh Mexican gourmet Cevicheria (seafood) Mazatlan style seafood with a fresh and unique touch of urban style in all dishes. Fresh fusion of seafood and different fruits accompanied by signature sauces Name: Sasha Reyes Company Name: Body and Soul Food Description: Body and Soul Food specializes in: personal chef services which include in-home cooking on a regular basis for convenience or for restrictive diets; dinner parties, gatherings of 10 or fewer with multiple courses prepared; and catering/event drop off and full service catering for up to 80 people. Name: Lorenzo Santillan Company Name: Ni De Aqui Ni De Alla Description: Rarely do you find true authentic Mexican food in restaurants north of the border. We specialize in the preparation of such traditional Mexican dishes that offer flavors that are often new to the American palate. To a large extent, our cuisine is a reintroduction of colorful Mexican food to American consumers. But don’t let our devotion to authentic Mexican food fool you. We have plenty of experience merging the cuisines of different cultures to create new culinary experiences, in effect broadening consumer reach. Name: Jared Stewart Company Name: Wings Like Eagles Description: WLE is in the food and service industry. We have started out catering small and large events with plans to raise funds for a food truck. Our sole focus is chicken wings, traditional, boneless, and strips. We also serve French fries and we will add fresh salads to our menu. Wings Like Eagles exist to provide great wings and invoke a positive atmosphere wherever we go. We will also start selling T- shirts and wristbands with our slogan i.e. – “Mount Up” on there; to create a culture to get our name, logo, and brand out there amongst the public.