Like so many others, I was shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Chef John Quigley at the age of just 62 on Sunday.
I first met John in the mid-90s when he was the chef at Mojo, the basement restaurant on Bath Street owned by Bobby Paterson, also sadly deceased. John had helped Bobby launch the place, and it was the first time many of us experienced what we’d now call pan-Asian cuisine. We were all in our twenties, and Mojo became a natural gathering place – it was also where John met his wife, Gillian.
John’s path to the kitchen had been anything but conventional. He had moved to London to attend art college but, like many, took a job as a waiter to make ends meet, ending up in the kitchen when a chef didn’t turn up for his shift. He quickly realised he had found his calling. By 1982 he was already one of the youngest head chefs featured in the Good Food Guide at the tender age of 22, having established Andrew Edmunds Wine Bar & Restaurant as one of London’s must-visit eateries.
In true John fashion, he didn’t take the obvious route after that early success. Instead, he accepted a six-month contract as a touring chef with Tina Turner. He went on to work with Paul McCartney, MC Hammer, Whitney Houston, Guns N’ Roses, the Bee Gees, Morrissey and Rod Stewart, eventually spending four years as Bryan Adams’ personal chef. With Bryan he travelled the world- Vancouver to Vietnam, Mexico City to Brunei – cooking at the highest level while still maintaining his unmistakably grounded Glasgow charm.
In 1995 John returned home to Glasgow to launch Mojo and four years later he moved across the road to open the basement eatery at newly-opened The Arthouse Hotel. He was also involved with Spy Bar and the Brunswick Hotel before, in 2001, partnering with Walter Barratt to open Quigley’s Restaurant on Bath Street, as well as catering for its sister basement bar, Lowdown and the adjacent Kelly Cooper Bar.
I must have eaten in every one of those venues many times, and over long business lunches – some of which stretched into the early hours – we got to know each other pretty well. I remember the small dishes at Lowdown, which were a groundbreaking concept for Glasgow at the time, and lunches that somehow turned into 3am conversations.
In November 2004 John opened his first solo venture: Red Onion with wife Gillian. I was at the launch, and later brought Dougray Scott there for lunch when I was organising the Scottish People’s Film Festival. As always, John came over for a chat – warm, curious, utterly without pretence.
Although I saw him less often after moving out of the city, we still crossed paths at events. Even when I last saw him, not all that long ago, he remained exactly as he had always been: charming, genuine, and deeply rooted in the things that mattered – his family, his food, and his community.
He was also very proud when his daughters Rosie and Amy joined Gillian and himself at Red Onion – creating a true family business.
John was a down-to-earth Scot who helped shape the city’s culinary landscape without ever adopting the arrogance that sometimes marked chefs of his generation. He was also a natural on camera, becoming one of the first Scottish chefs to be a regular presence on TV and on radio, as well as and contributing to many publications including having his own column to the Sunday Mail.
He battled and survived Prostrate cancer and spoke openly about his journey but it was lung cancer that proved to be the battle he couldn’t win.
John will be remembered not only for his talent but for his kindness and his gentle humour. Glasgow’s culinary scene certainly would not be where it is today, without John.
My thoughts are with his wife Gillian and his daughters and all his friends and family.
by Susan Young