Meet Maddie Dunhoff | Chef/Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maddie Dunhoff and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maddie, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I started my business as a way to cut back on the amount of jobs/days a week I was working. I wanted to have more free time even if it meant only a few hours. I also wanted to pursue something that connected with the local community, something that had a little more substance to me in my day to day life. So i reflected on my life and what mattered to me and i landed on the thought of me and my family. I’m a Japanese American, my grandmother is from Hiroshima and moved to the States years after the war. I wanted to highlight my culture and my grandmothers story. I have worked in kitchens since i was 16 years old so food seems like a natural outlet for me. So i worked to understand my grandmother’s traditional Japanese recipes and eventually mixed them with my food knowledge from over the years to create Japanese classics like you’ve never seen before.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Its never easy running a small business and also doing it as a one woman show but the community support and love pushes me to keep going and trying my bests. I provide GF and Vegan versions of Japanese Classics so everyone can try my food. Its very important to me to be able to provide food for as many people as possible, having my own dietary restrictions I know how hard it can be to find food with dietary restrictions. This can mean harder time sourcing ingredients, having to be extremely strict on my costs, longer hours of production, but its all worth it so i can provide good food for all. it has been a learning curve and challenging at times to say the least but I’ve never been happier being able to tell my grandmother’s story and cook her food for the community!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There’s so much to do in Denver but one thing I also tell people is go to the markets, go to a random food pop up, get deep in the community and experience what its like to be a Denver local. the Denver Food scene every year keeps elevating to levels i didn’t think we would ever get here. We are pushing for a new food scene here. One where the food is made with integrity but also care. where you personally get to know the chefs behind these new food popups/concepts all over Denver and what their driving force is. I think that’s truly the beauty in Denver’s Food Scene is the community behind it. Where people will wait 1hour plus in line for some baked goods or scratch made dumplings because they want to support that chefs dream and cuisine. We have some of the most diverse pop ups and markets around and that s paired with some of the most dedicated customers who will wait for -13 degree weather just to snag whatever treats they can and support local vendors. So if you do anything in Denver go eat and meet the Chefs behind this new food scene!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to give a shout out to the Japanese art Network and Asian Girls Ignite. Both Groups do so much from organizing events, Classes, educating and giving back to the Asian community in Denver. They have been big supporters since day one and have helped grow the outreach of my business in so many ways. On top of that they helped me find a community that helped me feel like i was home and help tell my grandmother’s story.

Instagram: instagram@taeko_san_takeout