On Thursday 28 March 2019, the RGS Professionals group were thrilled to meet at the impressive inamo restaurant in historic Covent Garden. Our thanks go to Lee Skinner (RGS 1985-1992), owner of inamo for hosting and talking to us about the innovative use of technology in his restaurants.

Lee has been in the hospitality industry since leaving RGS in 1992. He studied Hotel and Catering Management at Westminster and built his experience in the sector through companies such as McDonald’s, Kout Food Group and Feng Sushi, before becoming CEO and part-owner of inamo Restaurant and Bar Group.

Under his leadership, inamo has expanded to three restaurants and become a market leading and multi-award winning brand specialising in bringing technology to the hospitality sector. They have won OpenTable Diners Choice award for the last 4 years, Timeout and Love London awards and were voted as having the best sushi in London by Design My Night. They are also on the top first date venue for match.com as Lee said:

“If the date isn’t going well,
at least you can play with the projector!”

Accolades for 2019 already amount to “Best use of Technology” for their Games room in their Soho restaurant at the Restaurant and Marketer Awards 2019, again the OpenTable Diners Choice award and have they been shortlisted at Golden Chopstick Awards for “Best Asian Fusion Restaurant in the UK” and Design My Night awards in three categories.

Those in attendance were treated to a fascinating talk about the inamo business model. How their unique (and patented) projector technology creates a fantastic atmosphere for diners and the ability to order for themselves limits interruptions to their dining experience. The benefits to the restaurant are the ability to get live feedback from customers and use customer data to tailor the experience unique to each user and changes to their menu to reflect the most popular dishes.

Attendees had the opportunity to sample the delicious dragon rolls, a signature dish for the restaurant. inamo has grand plans for the future, with the hope to open another two restaurants in the near future and further expansion.

Sean Davey, Head of Foundation and Business Development thanked Lee our host and attendees stayed on for several hours to network and chat with other members of the Reigatian community. Attendees were spread from multiple generations across a wide range of the Reigatian professional community and we were particularly delighted that for a third of attendees, this was their first time joining us at a professionals event. We look forward to seeing them, and you, at another event soon.

Click here to find out more about the professionals group and how to join and make the most of this wonderful network. If you would be interested in getting involved, want to make a suggestion of an event for our programme or are able to offer a venue, please get in touch.