Cracking Little Wine Company

John Quilter

JOHN QUILTER - The Food Busker. John Quilter is a contemporary down to earth, quirky, Englishman with a background as an award winning restaurateur and chef.

JOHN QUILTER - The Food Busker
John Quilter is a contemporary down to earth, quirky, Englishman with a background as an award winning restaurateur and chef.
John will be presenting the Celebrity Chef Theatre at the Grand Designs Show in October
JQ’s alternative approach to food has lead to him being described as a food ‘Ring Master’ - where he brings performance and all elements of the show together, putting the fun back into food. He explores the two great levelers of music and food in his ‘Food BuskingTM’. It ranges from cooking ad-hoc on the street “food-terrorist-style” for people passing by or cooking and interviewing rock stars at major music festivals. Through his ‘Food DJ’ing’ (terms coined by him), he explores street food with street culture. He enlists the help of music artists to help him get his message over that food can be fun, inclusive and easy. He is spontaneous with anarchic food stunts and his mission is all about challenging people’s food fears. Think Punked meets MTV with a nod from Jackass!
JQ has a subversive attitude and believes in the emotion and socialization of food, the importance of eating together - food + friends = comfort. His cooking demos are more like ‘stand up routines.’ As a presenter, his style is more T4 that Saturday Kitchen. He has many associations with a young vibe, music, pop ups and street culture and champions Britishness and British institutions such as the greasy spoon café.
As he says, “Good, honest, local grub - is like a hug from your Mum.”
Today JQ works as a consultant specializing in media training, concept creation, set ups and turn-rounds and has worked for The Ivy, Le Caprice, Soho House and DJ Mr. Scruff. In the media he works as a presenter and writer and has appeared on shows such as Market kitchen and Richard & Judy. He’s operated businesses for Raymond Blanc as well as Sir Terrance Conran and operated his own Michelin listed, award winning brasserie Marmalade. JQ appears regularly as a presenter at shows such as Taste, Grand Designs, Ideal Homes and BBC Good Food. He has experience of working on commercials including the Adidas commercial, shot on the infamous Coronation Street. His other passion, surfing, is a pass time he pursues at any given chance with many tours of Britain’s coast as well as Australia under his belt.
He is currently working on a number of new projects for 2011/12 including TV. Follow him on Twitter or add on Facebook.
© Biography Celebrity Chefs UK 2010

John Quilter FOODBUSKER....

John recently presented the Ideal Home Show in London and will be presenting at Grand Designs Show, London 5th - 13th March.  He presents and appears in the celebrity chef theatres at regional festivals and events throughout the country.


Food is the Music of life!


He’s soothed Neneh Cherry’s sore throat with a peach, rushed on stage with a cup of Oolong tea for Kanye West, made a black pudding scotch egg for Robert Plant and asked Jessie J to give his commi a hug...


John Quilter is from Wolves via Manchester and now London-based.  A firm believer that food and music are the way to break down social barriers and even the coolest of the cool will fall prey to good ol’ tea and cake.


He’s managed to get himself gigs cooking backstage at major festivals where he interviews surly musicians. Then he melts them with his honest, home-cooked food, breaks down their icy barriers and gets them down to talk bout the nitty gritty. If he had a superpower this would be it.  By the time they’ve got his food in their mouths, they’re putty in his hands.

Check out his interviews on youtube and see what you think.


It’s called ‘Food Busking’ and through it he aims to show people how easy cooking is. By using interviews with musicians as the vehicle, JQ believes he can interest those who wouldn’t normally watch a cookery show or bother getting in the kitchen.

“Food Busking” above all else is an attitude. Accessible, down-to-earth, fun and subversive.  You can experience John’s Food Busking for yourself on London’s South Bank at the Real Food Festival.  Every weekend this year JQ cooks off the back of his iconic 3 wheel Ape van with a very simple concept:
I cook for you, if you like, you pay me what you think its worth.  If you don’t like it, you don’t pay.
As you can imagine it’s causing quite a stir and the Evening Standard Food Magazine has listed it as one of London’s key food trends for 2012
JQ’s food is quick, simple and easy, for people that don’t or cant cook and want to learn to.  Johns says, “I think food should be inclusive not exclusive, down-to -earth, fun and easy.” His mantra is, “good, honest, down-to-earth food is like a hug from me mum.”


John has been described as a maverick, contemporary down to earth, quirky, Englishmen.  With a back ground as an award winning restaurateur and chef.  Today he works as a consultant and in the media as a presenter and writer and has appeared on shows such as Market Kitchen and Richard & Judy.  He has worked with Raymond Blanc as well as Sir Terrance Conran and operated his own Michelin Listed, award winning brasserie Marmalade.
Most recently JQ has consulted for the Ivy, Le Caprice, Soho House and DJ Mr. Scruff’s business, Teacup, in Manchester. He appears regularly at shows such as Taste, Grand Designs and BBC Good Food. He also worked on the award winning Adidas commercial shot on Coronation St in 2010.

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