John Angus Macsween (17 October 1939 – 12 July 2006) was a Scottish butcher and entrepreneur who helped popularise haggis as an international dish.[1][2][3][4]
Business
editMacsween came from a family of butchers in Edinburgh, where he noted the popularity of haggis among English rugby fans attending international matches at Murrayfield Stadium.[1] After taking over the family business in 1975, the subsequent popularity of their haggis led to his opening the world's first purpose-built haggis factory, and the sale of the butchers company.[1][5] In the 1970s Macsween took samples to London, and soon received orders for Macsween haggis from major buyers including Selfridges, Harrods, and Fortnum & Mason.[1][5]
Macsween started to produce what was described as a vegetarian haggis in 1984, after a request from the Burns Supper at the Scottish Poetry Library.[1][5] It is stated that this was the first vegetarian haggis produced and available commercially.[3]
Personal life
editMacsween was the eldest of three siblings and attended James Gillespie's High School and George Heriot's School.[2]
Macsween married Kate Mackay, the daughter of James Wilson McKay, who became Lord Provost of Edinburgh, in 1964.[5] His wife and his four children survived him at this death,[1] and Macsween haggis continued to be produced,[6] sold under both the Macsween name and as supermarkets' own brands.[7]
He also had an interest in horticulture.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Brian Wilson (2 August 2006). "John Macsween". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
- ^ a b c "Obituary: John Macsween". The Independent. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ a b "John Macsween, great chieftain; the pudding race, dies". The Herald. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "John Macsween". The Times. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d Goldman, Lawrence (ed.). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008. Oxford University Press. p. 738. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
- ^ "Macsween | UK". www.macsween.co.uk.
- ^ "Macsween of Edinburgh Ltd recalls various products because of inadequate procedures to control Clostridium botulinum". Food Standards Agency. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.