Nico hands over reins as 111 by Modou announces opening date and menu
Modou Diagne plans a five-course tasting menu to showcase his skills, finds Rosalind Erskine
Formerly 111 by Nico, the restaurant was gifted to Modou Diagne back in March – and it’s now set to reopen under his ownership.
111 by Modou, at 111 Cleveden Road in Glasgow’s West End, will open on 21 August with a five-course tasting menu that will continue showcase his culinary skills. The 26-year-old chef will offer guests a seasonal Trust tasting menu priced at £30 per person with a matching wine flight at £25 per person and available every Tuesday-saturday.
Highlighting local ingredients, the menu includes dishes with Loch Etive sea trout, Shetland cod and Perthshire strawberries. This popular Trust tasting menu concept has been available at the restaurant since 2018 and was pioneered by Modou and his team. The Total Trust menu is also still available every Sunday, priced at £23 per person and offers diners a five-course menu designed entirely by the chef ’s choice of ingredients on the day.
Earlier this year chef Nico Simeone announced that 111 by Nico was to witness its biggest change to date with his close colleague and friend, Modou Diagne, taking over the reins. As the pandemic unfolded in the UK, Modou helped provide emergency food and support to some of the most vulnerable people in his community locked in poverty, by cooking weekly meals for St Gregory’s Church in Maryhill, Glasgow.
Modou, originally from Senegal, spent much of his younger life in Spain, before travelling to Glasgow by himself when he was 18 and with only £200 in his pocket to look for opportunities. He slept rough for ten days until he found refuge in a Shelter charity church that helps the homeless before eventually finding permanent shelter. After a year continuously applying for jobs with no success due to very poor English, he came across a recruitment advert Nico had posted online in 2014 for a kitchen porter at 111 by Nico.
Modou Diagne said: “Having moved here in 2013, I would never have dreamed that I would be in this position seven years later. I am more than ready for this next chapter at 111 and I look forward to showing everyone in the industry what I can do here at 111 by Modou.
“This city and the people who live here have welcomed me with open arms and I am forever grateful.”