TOLEDO, Ohio — Long-time Toledo restauranteur and chef John Wesley passed away last week from complications related to COVID-19, according to his son.
Wesley went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and graduated in 1984 before coming to Toledo.
In 1991, seven years after becoming a chef, Wesley opened the restaurant he would be best known for and the one that bore his name, ‘JD Wesley’s’ on Monroe St. in west Toledo.
The French-inspired restaurant was a popular spot for the city’s high-end restaurant customers, rivaling Mancy’s and Fifi’s at the time.
JD Wesley’s was known for its sweetbread (the thymus gland of young animals) and his signature dessert, Sac du bon bon, a particular favorite.
After JD Wesley’s closed in the late 90s, Wesley went on to open Encore by JD Wesley and was executive chef at a number of the city’s other high-end restaurants, including Rouge Bistro, Mancy’s, and the Avenue Bistro.
John Wesley was 59-years-old.
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