Jackie Needham

John Joseph (Jackie) Needham was born on the 9th October 1933 in Cabra, the only son of a family of five children. At the age of 14 he started work in the Russell Hotel as a page boy and within a year he moved to the kitchens as a commis chef. He apprenticed under the famous Pierre Rolland and progressed to become the head chef of the Russell Hotel. As part of this training he had spent six months working in Lyons, France. In February 1960 he married Rita Hefellner, a young lady from Straubing, Bavaria, Germany, who had been working in the Russell Hotel as a housemaid from June- October 1959. They had five children, Marcus (1960), Rita (1962), Jutta (1963), Karen (1965) and Andy in (1973).

Jackie Needham was considered to be one of the most talented Irish chefs to emerge from the Russell Hotel and according to John Clancy, was a fantastic sauce chef. He worked on state banquets for many visiting dignitaries including John F. Kennedy. This archive contains a number of newspaper cuttings featuring Jackie and the Russell Hotel, menus and photographs of the staff, and some clearance documentation associated with state banquets and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Russell was awarded 3 stars by Egon Ronay when his guide first covered Ireland in the early 1960s and when the first Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland was published in 1974, the Russell was the only Dublin restaurant to be awarded a Michelin Star. On leaving the Russell, Jackie worked in the Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge c. 1972-3, the Central Hotel and then for National Catering in the ACC Headquarters. He had a massive heart attack on the 8th August 1984 and died, in the middle of Horse Show week, which had always been a busy week for Jackie.