Chef John Quigley, 62, who ran Glasgow restaurant the Red Onion has died.
John Quigley(Image: Sunday Mail)
Scots chef to the stars John Quigley has died after a short battle with cancer. John, 62, had previously travelled the world as a personal chef for stars including Paul McCartney, Tina Turner and Bryan Adams before returning home to Scotland and running Glasgow restaurant the Red Onion.
In a career spanning more than 40 years, John began his culinary journey as a waiter in London’s West End in the 1980s. After filling in for a chef who didn’t turn up one night, he got the opportunity to run his own kitchen and became the youngest head chef in the Good Food Guide at 22.
John then moved to catering for the music industry after getting a job with a firm which catered for touring bands. He had previously managed a band called Friends Again with some success, securing a record deal for them before he was forced out by the record label.
Over the years, he travelled the world as the personal chef for a number of touring artists. His first taste of the industry was with Tina Turner before he became chef for Paul and Linda McCartney.
Further jobs with Guns n Roses frontman Axl Rose and the Bee Gees followed but his time spent on tour with Bryan Adams which was his most memorable as he supported the singer through his food anxiety.
John spent 10 years touring with various artists before an opportunity arose in Glasgow with the opening of Mojo on Bath Street in the mid-1990s. Coming back home to Scotland, John, from Hamilton, opened and established numerous restaurants.
He spent time at the Arthouse Hotel where he came inches away from earning the city’s only Michelin star. In 2005, he and wife Gillian – who celebrated their 25th anniversary last year – opened the Red Onion in Glasgow city centre.
He took his experiences, collecting recipes and cooking techniques from across the globe, and mixed them with traditional and modern Scottish cuisine to create the menu for his restaurant.
The Red Onion has seen a number of successes over its 20 years – including Maurice Gibbs’ wife’s recipe for Yorkshire Pudding – and is one of the longest continuously-owned restaurants in the city.
In 2022 and encouraged by his daughter Rosie, John, who was also a regular on the STV cookery game show Boiling Point, appeared on Come Dine With Me: The Professionals. Initially against the idea, he took some convincing but agreed to take part for a bit of fun and eventually ended up winning the show.
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