We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joshua Lozano. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joshua below.
Hi Joshua, so excited to talk about all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some that’s being the only person of color or the only non-native English speaker or the only non-MBA, etc Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room that looked like you?
Looking like how I look has always made it difficult to prove my worth to others; going back to my childhood. Honestly most of how I learned to be effective and show my worth has been through patience and silence. as the quote goes..“The whole point of being quiet is so that you can be heard when you do have something important to say. Hard work speaks for itself—it doesn’t need an introduction or a sales pitch.” Me growing up in a lower. middle class suburban family nothing was handed to me on a silver platter and I have an extreme fear of letting down the ones around me. I grew up learning to just do things even if you fail do them again until you reach the level of success you want and use that as a platform to level up, I also learned to only talk about successes in terms or reaching the next level up and never in terms of boasting. If you boast about your accomplishments you have forgotten what the core of the hospitality industry is. It should be a selfless career choice unfortunately most times it is not.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I was born and sun-kissed in California, but I have not always been a master of smoke and flame. My journey began in the stark contrast of the New York mountains, nestled in his grandparents’ rustic cabin. There, the crackling wood-burning stove became his culinary canvas and toolbox, a world away from the beachside grills and avocado toast of his childhood. Under the tutelage of his Nana, a woman who coaxed magic from simple ingredients, I learned the art of slow cooking, the dance of fire and wood, the language of smoke whispering through cast iron. This early exposure to elemental cooking ignited a spark in me that never died. Back in California, I traded my tattoo machine and piercing needles for a chef’s knife, climbing the greasy ladder of kitchen hierarchies. No sous-vide or molecular gastronomy enticed me. Over the years of dealing with culinary politics in traditional kitchens I craved the primal satisfaction of open flames and raw flavors. From my first day in my career as a young inexperienced cook I would devour cookbooks like adventure novels, each page a map to uncharted culinary territories; and I still do to this day
Over the years of professional kitchens and “foraged” kitchens thanks to all my experience I have become a force of nature in the culinary world. My catering company, “Northern Smoke/Defiant BBQ was a raging success, a testament to his skill with fire and his ability to transform local, seasonal ingredients into rustic, soul-stirring dishes. I purchased a mobile wood-fired oven, a nomadic altar to the flame, serving up live-fire pastries that were as much art as they were sustenance – sourdough loaves kissed by smoke, fruit pies bursting with caramelized sweetness, all bearing the earthy imprint of wood and fire.
My story isn’t just one of culinary success; it’s a testament to the power of ancestral wisdom, the alchemy of passion and fire, and the magic that can be found in unexpected places. He’s a Californian chef with a mountain soul, a culinary storyteller who weaves tales of smoke and earth, a living testament to the enduring legacy of a flame-kissed childhood.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The best advice I can give to anybody wanting to come into the food industry as a life career choice, I would have them ask themselves would they be willing to cook for professionally for free for the rest of your life. If they say no I would say get out now while you can. Its a hard industry mentally and physically draining and you sacrifice so much to make it in this industry. Relationships will get sacrificed time that there is no way to get back. and in some cases your own sanity.
now if you’re in it already and your looking to grow; I would say keep your mouth shut ears open and EAT ALOT!! Keep your mouth shut because there is an immense amount of knowledge to be attained and taught and you won’t be able to hear and see these lessons if your busy flaunting your peacock colors from culinary school.
Also to eat a lot; eat everything; eat rotten food, spoonfuls of spices, the burnt black shit on your flat top, turned wine (to turn into vinegar) Eat Shells eat seeds eat roots. The only way to make better food is to have knowledge of food, how it works and how its relationship interacts with others.
ultimately as a chef your in the business of relationships across the board. Relationships amongst your staff, your staff and the rest of the restaurants, the relationship of you and customer, of the food and the customer, of menu items in a tasting menu and of ingredients with each other.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I love collaboratins with others. I have an EXTREME travel bug that is deep rooted in me from childhood. In fact collaborations sustained my family and career for the first 3 years after covid. I have always said we in the food industry if we do not stick together and help eachother we will not survive.
The nice thing about being a “creative” and not just a chef it allows me room to collab with all other creatives, tattoo artists, painters, musicians, theatre folk, leatherworkers. If you do something creative hit me up on IG @Joshua_l0wlife or email me at [email protected]
I am always looking to meet new people cook something new and to see more of the beautiful world we live in
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Joshua_l0wlife
Image Credits
Alan De Herrara Andrew D Agosto Aaron Alva Jacen Carpenter
