Chef Nico Simeone has handed his Glasgow restaurant 111 by Nico at 111 Cleveden Rd over to its new owner, close colleague and friend, Modou Diagne. It will close on Monday 23rd March for refurbishment and re-branding to become ‘111 by Modou’ from Friday April 3rd.
Modou, originally from Senegal, worked his way up from kitchen porter to head chef.
He spent much of his younger life in Spain. At 18, Modou came to Glasgow by himself with only £200 in his pocket to look for an opportunity in life. He slept rough for ten days until he found refuge in a Shelter charity church that helps the homeless and eventually he found permanent shelter.
Nico said, “The time feels right, for both myself and Modou. This has been a personal dream of mine since meeting Modou in 2014, not only getting to know him as a close colleague, but he has become like family to me. There is no one I trust more to hand the reins to than Modou.
“This is Modou’s time to write his own story in the industry, and I will always be there to offer guidance and support when he needs it. Modou is ready to begin his next challenge so as one chapter comes to an end for me at 111, another opens for Modou – and I am really excited about it!”
After a year continuously applying for jobs with no success, he stumbled across a recruitment advert Nico had posted online or a kitchen porter at 111 by Nico. Within 3 minutes of the ad going live, Modou has applied. Nico met and hired Moodu in June 2014.
Modou Diagne said, “This opportunity is completely life changing for myself and my family back home. Having moved here in 2013, I would never have dreamed that I would be in this position 7 years later”.
“My hard work has paid off but more so, this is a really special to me as Nico is like a brother. I am more than ready for this next chapter at 111 and I look forward to showing everyone in the industry what myself and my team can do here at 111 by Modou”.
