Glaswegian chef John Keenan has a substantial claim to fame outside the kitchen, having enjoyed a successful music industry career, which peaked with the 2000 dance music hit ‘I need a miracle’, which sold 560,000 copies for the band FRAGMA while he was their manager.
Other highlights of John’s music career included forming the independent record label Contribution Records; and managing both the Scottish soul singer Robert Ferrier and Scottish vocalist Roberta Childs, who scored a number two in the dance charts with the project NRC ‘Here Comes the Rain Again’.
But having initially worked as a chef in the Royal Navy before his time in music, John has since returned to his first love, and via an HNC in cookery began his professional career as a chef at Pintxo Tapas Restaurant in Glasgow.
He has since worked at several well known establishments, including Wild Cabaret in Glasgow’s Merchant City, Melville Castle in Dalkeith, and the Spindthrift Restaurant at Pebbles Spa, Lendalfoot in Ayrshire.
That trajectory has now seen him appointed as head chef at the Worq group’s Bearsden cocktail bar and kitchen, 55BearsdenCross.
“I really enjoyed my time in the music industry, it was an exciting and fast paced life, with the FRAGMA hit a real highlight that I’ll always be thankful for,” said John. “But I always knew it had a shelf life for me, and that food would be the industry I’d return to, but at a new, dedicated level, with the correct training and experience behind me.
“I’m massively excited about this new role at 55BeardenCross, which is a stunning bar and kitchen, one of the latest offerings from Worq, which is a fantastic, progressive hospitality business that is really putting its mark on the industry,” he said.
“I’m looking to build up the food and drink clientele here, and have already devised a new menu. I’d love to gain an AA rosette for my food, that is one of my main ambitions, as I have a gold disc to my name for my former career, so why not the ultimate accolade for my current career? The sky is the limit here, and I have a committed and supportive team beside me.”
Managing director of Worq Hospitality, Jonathan Doherty said: “We welcome John to 55BearsdenCross. He is a chef with a huge passion for his craft, coupled with bags of enthusiasm and new ideas. He knows Glasgow inside out too.
“It would also appear that he does indeed put the same level of commitment into his food career as he did in the past with his impressive music career! We are very confident that our clientele at 55BearsdenCross, our regulars and those still discovering us, will very much enjoy his food.”
