From New Orleans to Con Amor: Chef Taylor Dillon on Mexican Food, Identity, and Building with Purpose
5/8/202642 min
Chef Taylor Dillon's path into Mexican cuisine wasn't traditional, and that's exactly what makes this conversation interesting.
Born and raised in New Orleans, trained in some of New York's most demanding kitchens including Daniel and Jean-Georges, Taylor eventually found himself completely immersed in the craft, history, and technique behind Mexican food. What started as curiosity turned into obsession, studying nixtamalization, grinding corn from scratch, and building a deeper understanding of a cuisine rooted in generations of tradition.
Now, alongside his wife Kayla, he's built Con Amor, a restaurant shaped by passion, discipline, and a genuine respect for the culture behind the food.
In this episode, we talk about identity in cooking, earning credibility inside a cuisine that isn't tied to your own heritage, opening a restaurant while building a marriage at the same time, and why some of the best chefs never stop learning.
We're also joined by Leigh Wilson, Director of Marketing for Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, for another segment of What's Hot Tampa Bay, discussing the evolution of the local food scene and why chefs telling more personal stories through food is resonating now more than ever.
This one is about culture, humility, growth, and building something with intention.
- Chef Taylor Dillon shares how growing up in New Orleans and training in elite New York kitchens shaped his culinary foundation.
- Why Mexican cuisine became a personal obsession, and how self-teaching nixtamalization changed his direction as a chef.
- The importance of respecting culture, technique, and tradition when cooking outside your own heritage.
- Opening Con Amor alongside his wife Kayla, and balancing marriage with restaurant ownership.
- Why collaboration and mentorship matter more than competition in today's culinary landscape.
- Leigh Wilson of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay joins the conversation for another segment of What's Hot Tampa Bay, discussing how the local food scene is evolving through more personal storytelling and chef-driven concepts.
BRAND PARTNERS
Metro Foodservice Solutions & Trimark USA
https://www.metro.com
Commercial-grade storage, transport, and workflow systems trusted across professional kitchens.
RAK Porcelain USA
https://www.rakporcelain.com
Professional tableware engineered for durability and presentation.
Citrus America
https://www.citrusamerica.com
Premium citrus solutions supporting chefs, retailers, and distributors.
Crab Island Seafood
https://crabislandseafood.com
Florida-based supplier delivering responsibly sourced seafood to foodservice partners.
Testo North America
https://www.testo.com/en-US
Precision measurement and food safety solutions for professional kitchens.
Franki
https://www.getfranki.com
A platform connecting restaurants with high-intent diners through real experiences and user-generated content.
CAUSE PARTNERS
The Burnt Chef Project
https://www.theburntchefproject.com
Advocating for mental health awareness in the hospitality industry.
Operation BBQ Relief
https://operationbbqrelief.org
Providing meals to communities impacted by natural disasters.
Sustainable Supperclub
https://www.sustainablesupperclub.com
Pop-up dining experiences focused on sustainability and food access.
TRADE SHOW & INDUSTRY PARTNERS
Florida Restaurant Show
https://www.therestaurantshows.com/florida/
New York Restaurant Show
https://www.therestaurantshows.com/new-york/
California Restaurant Show
https://www.therestaurantshows.com/california/
Pizza Tomorrow Summit
https://www.pizzatomorrow.com/
U.S. Culinary Open
https://www.usculinaryopen.com/About
Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
https://www.cltampa.com
ABOUT WALK-IN TALK MEDIA
Walk-In Talk Media is an industry-recognized B2B food and hospitality media company focused on chef-driven storytelling and real conversations inside the business of food.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsSpeaker 00:00
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Carl Fiadini· Host0:21
Today's episode is about building something you weren't born into but still earning your place in it. Because food has always been bigger than geography. It's about respect, technique, obsession, time. Chef Taylor Dillon grew up in New Orleans, trained in elite kitchens like Daniel and Jean-Georges New York, and somehow found himself completely pulled into Mexican cuisine. Not casually either. We're talking books, repetition, grinding corn from scratch, teaching himself nixtamalization, and chasing authenticity because he genuinely fell in love with the craft behind it. Now he's built Con Amor alongside his wife Kayla, and the story behind it is bigger than just opening a restaurant. Within the span of about a year, they got married, opened the restaurant, and built a business together from the ground up. We're also joined by Lee Wilson, Director of Marketing for Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, for another segment of What's Hot, Tampa Bay. Because this conversation really reflects where the Tampa Bay food scene is heading right now. More personal, more intentional, more chefs willing to tell their story through food. So today we're talking about identity, culture, earning credibility, and what it takes to build something that actually means something. Taylor, when you look at everything that's happened over the last