After Working in the Edibles Industry for Years, This Woman Is Now Serving Gourmet Mochi

Although some people may know mochi from its Americanized ice cream version, Taeko-san Takeout is introducing Colorado to gourmet mochi at a level far beyond what you can find in the grocery store. Using modified versions of her Japanese grandmother's recipes, owner Madeline Dunhoff is bringing authentic mochi, onigiri and curry to local farmers' markets, and offers delivery/catering orders across the greater Denver metro area.

Taeko-san Takeout uses traditional mochi-making techniques, an arduous process that includes steaming rice, beating the mixture using a mixer, and hand-beating it for an additional hour to create the perfect glutinous structure. On top of that, Dunhoff likes to "try different crazy flavors every month" in order to "give this exceptional experience." Some of the highlights from her May mochi menu include lemon black sesame pound cake, salted caramel Oreo and raspberry brownie.

The same principle applies to her onigiri, which are Japanese rice balls that usually contain some sort of filling and are wrapped in seaweed. A few of her previous flavor ventures include fusing the flavors of dishes such as Mexican elote or vegan Philly cheesesteaks with Japanese ingredients and techniques.
The curry is the most traditional offering, and is the recipe that Dunhoff has tweaked the least. "It makes me warm and happy when people truly love my curry, because that's my grandmother on a plate right there," she says.

Additionally, all of Taeko-san Takeout's products are vegan and gluten-free. As somebody who used to have a restricted diet because of stomach issues, Dunhoff acknowledges "how hard it can be" to find suitable food. Her goal is to "provide good traditional Japanese food to as many people as possible, whether they have dietary restrictions or not."

The business is named after Dunhoff's grandmother, Taeko, an immigrant who had a huge influence in her life. As a child, she fondly recalls being nearly inseparable from her grandmother. "My mother couldn't get me to eat with anyone [else] in the family. It had to be my grandmother always," she reminisces. "Even from a young age, cooking with her and sharing a meal at the dinner table was one of the most important things to me."
While Dunhoff realized early on that food was one of her passions, she didn't start her career in the culinary world. Once she finished high school, she opened a dog-grooming salon, which "actually kind of led me into working with food, because we all love animals, but I realized that I didn't love grooming dogs all day long," she admits.

Instead, "I actually started working with Love's Oven, which is one of the original founding fathers of edibles in Colorado," Dunhoff says. "I worked in their packaging department." But she also found time to learn more about cooking on her own. She describes "going crazy through cooking shows, cooking channels and cookbooks every night to try and replicate my favorite dishes from restaurants."

Eventually, she extended her enthusiasm into the professional kitchen as well. "Every time there was something in the kitchen, I was like, 'Can I help with that? Can I help you guys? What can I learn? What can I do?'" Dunhoff recalls.

Dunhoff credits Love's Oven's executive chef, Hope Frahm, with helping her gain pastry knowledge and kitchen experience. "We were doing baked goods at high altitude, which is already hard enough, but then we add in the fact that we're using cannabis, too, so that leaves no margin for error," Dunhoff says. "It was some of the best training I could have ever received."
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Dunhoff was working three to four jobs, seven days a week. "I kind of had this moment where I realized I needed to go back home and experience the community that I grew up with," she says. This soul-searching adventure led her back to her hometown of San Diego, where she grew up savoring the taste of her grandmother's traditional Japanese cooking.

She recalls feeling that the "most home, most community" that she's ever felt was when she was at her grandmother's table. As a result, Dunhoff began documenting her grandmother's recipes as a way of paying homage to her experience as a Japanese immigrant.

After coming back to Colorado, Dunhoff then began experimenting with the recipes. "I spent a month troubleshooting and trying to figure out [Taeko's] technique" and how to make it work at altitude, she recalls. Once it all came together, Taeko-san Takeout was born.
Dunhoff previously worked at farmers' markets supporting her mother's business, Fox Fungi, and her mom encouraged her to set up shop there. Her first experience was at a vegan market. "That was the first community and market scene to let me in, and that's why I offer vegan products," Dunhoff says.

After a month in business, the Japanese Arts Network reached out to Taeko-san Takeout to cater at a night market downtown. At the event, Dunhoff sold out in just twenty minutes and was able to connect with more Asian business owners and vendors. That experience led to hosting a mochi-making session with the Asian Girls Ignite organization, which empowers Asian females and gives back to the community.

Now, Taeko-san Takeout is focused on pop-ups and delivery/catering orders. Dunhoff is considering options like expanding into a food truck or storefront in the future, but says that she wants to "see what seems the most natural and organic to the business and to the community."

Through the summer, Taeko-san Takeout will be at the City Park Farmers Market every Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the Arvada Farmers Market on Sundays in June. Dunhoff also plans to set up shop at the vegan market at the South Broadway brewery Grandma's House once a month. For more information, including ordering options and the business's full pop-up schedule, visit @taeko_san_takeout on Instagram.