On a busy Friday morning at Tocabe American Indian Eatery in Denver, chef and co-founder Ben Jacobs checks on a batch of salsa which is being prepared while some bison ribs and a pot of beans are simmering, ahead of today's lunchtime rush.
Tocabe specializes in Indigenous ingredients, sourcing from Native producers across the region.
"We get corn from Bow and Arrow brand, which is Ute Mountain Ute. And then we get our pinto beans, our juniper ash, and we also get corn from Navajo Pride Foods, which is based out of Farmington, New Mexico," he said.
Chef Ben Jacobs founded Tocabe 16 years ago. He grew up in the industry—his parents were also Native American chefs—and drew inspiration from them and his family's Osage culinary traditions to launch his own restaurant. His goal is to create a community-driven space where food reflects culture and identity.
" I think what is beautiful about the native culinary world right now is that, as I always say, we're the oldest cultures on the continent in many ways have the youngest cuisine because we are reestablishing and redeveloping what our cuisine is," said Jacobs.
"It's very regional, it's very tribal, it's very local. And so no matter where you go from Washington to Maine to Florida to Colorado, it does have varieties."
Those varieties start with staple ingredients: corn, beans, squash, and wild game. But Jacobs says there's much more to the story.
The varieties of corn, the variety of squash that are available. Like those are the things that a lot of people associate, corn, beans and squash. Well, that's incredible. That is three things. But those three things have hundreds, if not thousands of varieties. So you have so many different ways that you can play with those ingredients," he said.
Tocabe also serves as a job training ground for young Native Americans. About 80% of the staff are Native, ages 17 to 27.
" They're so engaging, they're so polite, they're so respectful. They take their time, they're excited to show their identity and they all embrace our philosophy as a company, which is really important, is making sure that we're a positive image for the native community," said Jacobs.
"We wanna make sure when people come in here, they not only have a wonderful eating experience, like I always say, you can come in and eat and have an amazing meal and then leave great food first. But after that, I want people to walk out and say, 'wow, they were amazing.' And maybe break the stereotype that they have in their head of what Native people may be."
Beyond the restaurant, Jacobs is also supporting Native students. He's one of several chefs participating in this weekend's for the American Indian College Fund.
The fund was created in 1989 to support students attending tribal colleges and universities.  
"We do student support, and we also help our tribal colleges and universities grow and thrive," said Nancy Jo Houk with the American Indian College Fund.
Houk says Denver EATSS is a very important event for raising money for the fund and raising awareness about Native American issues.
"We actually do the EATSS events in other cities as well. And we started doing them because we know from our students that they feel like oftentimes people don't know who they are. People aren't familiar with their culture, people just aren't familiar with that Native people are even around," said Houk.
"And so we thought that one of the ways that we could actually help people learn more about modern-day native people would be to have community-based events where people can meet students. And then also we thought about, you know, what do we share as people, right? Food definitely is one of those things that we share. And food is about community. And so incorporating the culinary piece to that seemed like the right pathway for us."
Chef Ben Jacobs says education is also central to his mission—both inside and outside the kitchen.
"When we started this restaurant, it was one thing we were adamant on was breaking the romanticized image that Hollywood created of us and getting people to see us as who we are and understand we're not a historical image," said Jacobs.
"We're just as progressive, and we can do that through a culinary experience where you can come in and we can kind of break someone's thought when they come in like, 'oh, wow, I didn't realize they had this freshness or this aroma, or this spice or this richness, this depth.' Like there are things that can be told through food. And so that's how we create," he said.
Jacobs' story is now reaching an even wider audience. Tocabe just opened a new location at Denver International Airport—the first Native-owned restaurant at DIA.
Chef Ben Jacobs is one of the chefs participating in this year's fundraiser for the American Indian College Fund. The event runs Friday and Saturday, April 11 and 12, and features a musical performance by Nathaniel Rateliff and the Colorado Symphony & Raye Zaragoza.
Copyright 2025 Rocky Mountain Community Radio. This story was shared via Rocky Mountain Community Radio, a network of public media stations in Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico, including Aspen Public Radio.
Copyright 2025 Aspen Public Radio