News

As part of our Mr Fogg’s Explorer Series, we were absolutely thrilled to have welcomed the incredible travel writer, Sir Michael Palin, to Mr Fogg’s Residence on Monday 8th April 2019! Guests enjoyed an evening of exclusive Tanqueray No. TEN gin libations, whilst listening to Palin’s extraordinary adventures around the world, including the Himalayas and the North Pole. We also gained an insight into the fascinating details of his BBC travel series ‘Around the World in 80 Days’, inspired by the fictional adventures of Phileas J. Fogg himself in Jules Verne’s nineteenth-century novel!

Cocktails in the City Spring 2019 is in full swing! The team at Mr Fogg’s and Cahoots have popped up at The Vaults in Waterloo for London’s most popular cocktail weekend event between Thursday 4th and Saturday 6th April.

Mr Fogg’s household staff are serving delicious Oxley Gin libations from our marvellous hot air balloon bar, in our Victorian-themed Pleasure Garden! Drawing inspiration from the famous Vauxhall Gardens of the nineteenth century, the pop-up features floral displays, a quaint ‘outdoor’ seating area and a Mr Fogg’s flower swing for the perfect Instagrammable photo!

Representing Cahoots, our team of scoundrels have taken refuge in yet another subterranean space – the railway arches under Waterloo Station! Inspired by the Victory Gardens of post-war 1940s Britain, our Cahoots pop-up touches on the concept of ‘digging for victory’ and up-cycling materials to grow and supply fruit, vegetables and herbs. With edible cocktail sachets and our very own Cahoots Foraging Station, come on down and garnish your tipple with The Botanist Gin, made with 22 of the finest hand-foraged botanicals!

On Monday 18th March, the Inception Group HQ Staff Awards 2018 were held at our largest venue across the group, Mrs Fogg’s Maritime Club & Distillery! Kicking off the evening with beers, wine and Prosecco, the team enjoyed delicious canapés from our Indian-inspired menu at Mrs Fogg’s. The annual staff awards are dedicated to recognising and rewarding employees’ in their hard work and achievements over the past year, from venue managers to head office employees. The team then continued their celebrations into the night at London Cocktail Club! See below for the list of our well-deserved winners of 2018…

HQ STAFF AWARDS WINNERS 2018

Employee of the Year

Simon Allison

Head of Marketing

Runner-Up Employee of the Year

Siri Johansson

Pop-Ups Events Manager

General Manager of the Year

Philippe Lache

GM at Mr Fogg’s Residence

Assistant General Manager of the Year

Zsombor Lippai

AGM at Maggie’s Club

HQ Newcomer of the Year

Adam Solomons

Feedback Manager

Venue Newcomer of the Year

Lucy Harrison

GM at Bunga Bunga Covent Garden

We are delighted to announce that Mr Fogg’s has won Best Pub Brand/Concept in the whole of the UK at the industry’s biggest awards – The Publican Awards! Honouring the best within the pubco sector, the awards took place at the Battersea Evolution in London, recognising and awarding excellence across the UK by top industry experts.

With three new venues opening across London last year, the Mr Fogg’s brand is renowned for its unique and eclectic hospitality concept inspired by Jules Verne’s character, Phileas J. Fogg, in his novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Other bars that were nominated in this category include The New World Trading Company, Stonegate Pub Company and Pizza, Pots & Pints.

On winning the award, Charlie Gilkes (co-founder of Inception Group) says: ‘We are so honoured and delighted that Mr Fogg’s has been recognised as the Best Pub Brand/Concept in the UK at the prestigious Publican Awards. We are committed to continue building an interesting collection of bars for the adventurous with a real focus on providing a unique and memorable experience’.

On January 14th, Inception Group went BIG with our largest Christmas party yet, held at The London Cabaret Club. After the launch of three new Fogg’s venues in 2018, it was only fitting that we went with this year’s fancy dress theme… Victorian Circus! The Inceptionauts went to town with the dress code and arrived in a spectacular variety of weird and wonderful theatrical costumes. After enjoying a delicious buffet and cocktails, the room was filled with live music, circus acts, magicians, jugglers, a real snake and more! We then celebrated by dancing the night away Inception-style, patting ourselves on the back after our hard work over Christmas and New Year’s.

For more images of the Inception Christmas Party 2018/19, visit our Facebook album here.

On Monday 14th January 2019, all members of Inception Group were invited to Leicester Square Theatre for our annual company conference! Celebrating 10 years of Inception, Charlie Gilkes reflected on how far the company has come over the years – looking over a room of nearly 400 people, compared to under 10 employees back in 2009.

We looked back on a fantastic 2018 filled with spectacular pop-ups such as Spritz & Giggles and Casa Bonita, social media growth, our viral Around the World campaign and the opening of three new Mr Fogg’s venues, including our 11th and largest venue yet – Mrs Fogg’s Maritime Club & Distillery! After discussing our future plans for Inception Group, we welcomed Nick Williamson (Marketing Director of Campari UK) to the stage for an exciting discussion on the past, present and future trends within the hospitality industry.

Before heading off to celebrate the #InceptionParty19 at The London Cabaret Club, co-founders Charlie Gilkes and Duncan Stirling presented the winning employees from each venue with awards for their hard work and dedication throughout the year!

We are very proud to announce that Inception Group have WON ‘Launch Campaign of the Year’ in the Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards 2019 for Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration.

Advertised as the Best Job in the World, the viral campaign was launched as a job application to travel across the world, with over 10,000 applicants. It received worldwide media attention, including an appearance on Sky News and even led to Ryan Reynolds wanting to apply for the job! The campaign also included a series of social media and marketing campaigns in the lead-up to the opening of The Society of Exploration, including the launch of the world’s first cocktail-creating machine that takes pride of place in the venue – our Mechanical Mixologist.

The Restaurant Marketer & Innovator Awards recognise the growing importance of marketing, innovation and strategy professions within the restaurant and bar industry.

See below for examples of our launch campaigns…

Around the World Job Launch

Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration opens on The Strand

Mechanical Mixologist at Mr Fogg’s Society of Exploration