John MacSween (haggis entrepreneur)

John Angus MacSween (17 October 1939 12 July 2006) was a Scottish butcher and entrepreneur who helped popularise haggis as an international dish.[1]

MacSween 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] In the 1970s MacSween took his haggis to London, and soon received orders for MacSween haggis from the luxury department stores Selfridges, Harrods, and Fortnum & Mason.[1]

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]

MacSween married Kate Mackay, in 1964, she was the daughter of a former Lord Provost of Edinburgh. His wife and his four children survived him at this death,[1] and MacSween haggis continued to be produced.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brian Wilson (2 August 2006). "John MacSween". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  2. MacSweens Web site, accessed 3 February 2015
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