DENVER – Tocabe has been serving American Indian cuisine since 2008, but the recipes and ingredients have been passed down through generations.
The only American Indian owned and operated restaurant in Metro Denver, Tocabe combines traditional Osage family recipes with elements of modern American Indian fare. The co-owners, Matt Chandra and Ben Jacobs, both Osage Indians, utilize their American Indian roots to help educate people on Indigenous culture.
“There’s a people behind every ingredient around the globe. A lot of the food you see in the produce section have Native and Indigenous roots,” says Jacobs.
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At Tocabe, they believe that every meal should tell a story of American Indian culture. For them, that means working closely with various native communities to source the ingredients they use.
“We have a philosophy that we go by, or kind of a mantra, that’s ‘Native first, local second,’” says Jacobs. “It’s our job and our duty and our obligation to support native food production. Where many restaurants are local, local, local first, which is great and we obviously believe in that as well, we believe that it’s important that we buy from native food producers first.”