The group, called Wonderland Restaurants, comprises a core team of restaurant industry specialists, including creative director Mike Bagale, former executive chef of three-Michelin starred Alinea in Chicago; group executive chef Cláudio Cardoso, the former group executive chef at Sushisamba; and innovation director Mark Garston, who was former head of central development for The Fat Duck Group.
Chief Illusionist Chris Cox, a self-proclaimed ‘mind-reader’ and mentalist magician, is also a member of the Wonderland Restaurants team.
The team plans to use its experience in working in some of the world’s most creative restaurants to create an international portfolio of ‘immersive food concepts’. It is currently working on a number of restaurant concepts and products with award-winning global brands, the first of which will open in London this year.
“Wonderland Restaurants is a rich melting pot of some of the finest creative minds and storytellers from the world of food and magic,” says Bulmer.
“Our company’s vision is to bring curiosity, imagination and wonderment to the hospitality sector in a way never seen before and build an international portfolio of immersive food concepts.
“I’m incredibly excited to be steering this hugely dynamic team of talented individuals, with an exciting project planned for this year.”
In addition, the company has launched Wonderland Labs, which is described as being dedicated to accelerating and evolving food and drink innovation for both existing and future projects.
Bagale joined Grant Achatz’s famed three Michelin-starred Chicago restaurant in 2009, becoming the restaurant’s first executive chef in 2012 before leaving in 2018. During his time there the restaurant made an annual appearance on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Bulmer was group CEO of The Fat Duck Group between November 2017 and November 2018 having previously worked at The Walt Disney Company, where he was responsible for the growth across Europe, Middle East & Africa within lines of business such as food, health and beauty products.
Cardoso became group executive chef at Sushisamba in London in April 2013 before joining Billionaire Life Group as its corporate executive chef in 2018.