A Madrid, NY native, Josh Taillon graduated in 2000 from Paul Smith’s College with his degree in culinary arts and subsequently spent 13 years cooking in the Boulder area of Colorado.

In 2013 Josh was drawn back to the North Country to pursue an opportunity to run a restaurant on the property of Iroquois Farm on Rt. 37 in Lisbon. It was there at "The Kitchen" where he started making a name for himself; where he started relationships with local area farmers that continue to this day; and it was also at The Kitchen that he met fellow Madrid native and future wife, Alicia.

And while "The Kitchen at Iroquois Farm" as a restaurant was a short-lived endeavor, it was just the beginning of Josh’s commitment to the community that he calls home.

After closing The Kitchen in 2014, Josh and Alicia found their home at Jake’s on the Water, then only open for 3 months, in Hannawa Falls. Over the course of his 5 years there, Josh helped transform the casual pub style food into a seasonally changing, farm to table experience for North Country diners.

It was at Jake’s that Josh met and worked side by side over the course of those five years with Brad, our sous chef here at The Blue House. There, he also led several years of Chef’s Table dinners (5 course tasting menus paired with wine/beer) and continued to build his following of folks willing to try anything simply because they were adventurous eaters and trusted their chef.

And while their tenure at Jake's afforded Josh & Alicia the opportunity to buy a house and get married, start a family, and just take a breather from the responsibilities of ownership, that dream of doing things their way - in their hometown - was always burning in the background.

And in late fall of 2018, they began to stoke those flames.

Tucked at the end of the business row in the Madrid town square was a dusty blue house with a tired front porch and not nearly as many windows as it should have had. Old and loved and full of memories and positively *bursting* with potential, Josh and Alicia took one look at the views out the windows that overlooked the historic Madrid Dam and Grasse River and knew this was it. It could be no place else.

The Blue House.

Demolition started a year later in November of '19 and somehow, between the snow and COVID, the restaurant industry falling apart and the price of materials going through the roof..between raising a toddler, unrelenting decision fatigue and panicked bouts of sheer self doubt, they managed to stay positive and married and more excited than ever to share their dream that had finally turned into a reality.

The Blue House opened in January of 2021 to a following of over 3,000 people, many of whom had yet to taste Josh's cooking. After 6 months of exclusively takeout, growing their confidence and customer base, they finally opened their doors for dine-in in July of 2021.

So that's our story. Well, the broad strokes, anyway. We're Josh and Alicia. Just two Madrid kids who opened a restaurant in their home town.

Welcome to our space; we can’t wait to feed you!