{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Love of Here | Life and Work in Northwest Georgia","title":"Music, Food, and Fire | Josh Taylor’s Culinary Journey","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1780,"description":"What does it take to go from washing dishes at your mom's café in Dalton, Georgia to landing on The New York Times list of the 50 best restaurants in the country? Chef Josh Taylor knows. Raised in Dalton, Josh discovered his love of food early — scrubbing pots at his mother's Sweet Basil Café and later pulling shifts at West Walnut Café before chasing a music career took him from Athens to Park City, Utah, and eventually to Charleston, South Carolina. It was in Charleston that he opened Lost Isle, a fully outdoor, live-fire restaurant fusing Southern comfort with Southeast Asian flavors — and the culinary world took notice fast. In just over two years, Lost Isle earned a spot on The New York Times 50 Best Restaurants list and was named Southern Living's Restaurant of the Year. Josh sits down with us to talk about his Dalton roots, the road that led him to a career in food, and what it's really like to build a restaurant from the ground up.HighlightsJosh's first kitchen job was washing dishes at his mom's restaurant, the Sweet Basil Café, in downtown Dalton — he was about eight years oldHe originally left Dalton to pursue music, not culinary arts, and worked in restaurants to fund his life as a musicianA girlfriend convinced him to enroll in culinary school in Athens, Georgia — that's when food started to get seriousJosh put together a band in Park City, Utah, released two records (still available on Spotify), and landed his first executive chef job there at age 28His move to Charleston was partly about being closer to family — a quick flight to Chattanooga puts him near Dalton and SavannahThe Thai and Asian influence in his cooking traces back to Dalton: working at a friend's dad's Chinese restaurant in high school, training in Muay Thai, and eventually traveling to Thailand for two weeks of eatingThe fan-favorite dish at Lost Isle? Collard greens with Thai-inspired flavors — they've been on the menu since day one and aren't going anywhereLost Isle is entirely...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/32Msm-9Gwlojlmwh9dOdnofsbjwMDCFdOa9IIi5kxJw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS8zOTc4/NWIzOWNkMjJjYThh/OGMxYTkzMTY3OWJk/OTg4ZC5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}