uses traditional mochi-making techniques, an arduous process that includes steaming rice, beating the mixture using a mixer, and hand-beating 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 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.
Dunhoff credits Love Oven's executive chef Hope Frahm for 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.