Manchester will see a party like never before in September when the group that changed the face of dining and entertainment in the city organises a sensational night out in aid of the Tim Bacon Foundation and cancer charities.
Tim Bacon and Jeremy Roberts were the driving force behind one of the UK's most successful entertainment ventures, spawning top venues including Manchester's The Living Room, Australasia, Gusto, The Alchemist and The Botanist.
After Tim's death in 2016, Jeremy established a charity dedicated to raising money for cancer charities in his business partner's name – The Tim Bacon Foundation.
This charity came out of a desire to keep Tim’s name alive in the industry and this September, Manchester, where the Cheshire-based Living Ventures Group began its success story, will rise to the occasion with a night of eating and partying like no other.
Jeremy's aim is that Dream The Impossible: The Sequel, on September 8 will be even better than the inaugural Dream The Impossible fundraising event in 2017: 'We are proud of what we’ve achieved, but we are really excited to do it again, bigger and even better so we can all honour Tim’s memory and help the one-in-two of us affected by cancer,' he says.
'Tim was very well loved in the business and hugely respected by his colleagues and the wider Manchester and UK hospitality scene who quite rightly, wanted to raise money in his memory, initially for the Christie, which treated him, and for Maggie's Centres, which offer practical support for those living with cancer.'
It was important to Jeremy that Tim’s name stay on people’s lips in the industry for years to come and that by creating the Tim Bacon Foundation in January 2017, the narrative surrounding living with cancer could be established.
Within 12 months of inception, TBF had raised £500,000 to support the inaugural proton therapy centre in the UK opened at the Christie Hospital in 2018 with the capacity to treat 1,500 patients annually, who would otherwise have had to travel overseas for targeted therapy.
Following this monumental initial fundraising effort, Jeremy felt it was just as vital to focus on the strategy for TBF for the long term and how it could be used as a means of fundraising across all the brands within the group and the wider hospitality industry.
In keeping with this philosophy and success of the first large-scale charity fundraiser in 2017, Jeremy has even grander plans for Dream The Impossible: The Sequel this September.
This mass hospitality event, spread across 10 Manchester restaurants, will see 1,300 people dining in some of the city’s most exclusive dining rooms before a full-scale after-party at the Albert Hall.
The evening will repeat the formula of the event held the year after Tim's death, with individual groups of diners, and company sponsors, buying anything from one table to a full restaurant in support of TBF and many of the Manchester-based cancer charities.
Dream The Impossible: The Sequel will see The Alchemist, Gusto, Grand Pacific, San Carlo, Habas, The Bull and Bear, Hawksmoor, 20 Stories, Tattu, and Duttons, all offer their restaurants for the event.
As well as the tremendous support from the restaurants, TBF has received sponsorship from city businesses such as Vita Property, Urban Splash, Bruntwood, Shoosmiths, The Williams Motor Group, Palatine Private Equity, Relentless, OBI, FP Pareto and Verlingue Insurance, which have bought individual restaurant packages and are working with their chosen cancer charities including Maggie's, The Christie, Prevent Breast Cancer, Bury Cancer Centre, Joshua Tree, and Young Lives v Cancer.
Other cancer charities wanting to donate raffle prizes for the online auction can get involved and will receive a share of the funds raised on the night.
Following the auction and dinner in their respective restaurants, diners will make their way to the Albert Hall, where the Mission Mars team behind Albert Schloss will co-ordinate the main entertainment and work at cost to support the charity.
Jeremy says Dream The Impossible: The Sequel, is sure to be the biggest party in town: 'There’s so much going on – I am truly humbled by the response from my colleagues at all the restaurants and from Roy Ellis and Neil Macleod at the Albert Hall. The first time we redefined the charity dinner and this will be even better.
'The beauty of this event is that everyone plays to their strengths and pulls together for a common cause. It’s really humbling and inspiring and Tim would have loved it.’
Alongside everyone having a brilliant time, the ticket sales, sponsorship, and online auction will support cancer charities specific to Manchester but Jeremy is keen to point out the Tim Bacon Foundation is not just about raising money and awareness on one night and that it continues to provide a vehicle for charity projects across the wider UK hospitality industry.
As an example, TBF is advising and assisting Gusto restaurants who are currently supporting one of their employees living with cancer, with the aim of raising £100,000 in 2022 for Young Lives vs Cancer and Robinsons is raising funds to establish a national helpline for testicular cancer charity Baggy Trousers.
From its early days of inception, the TBF has been the main charity of choice at industry awards and, together with restaurant fundraising and events, more than a million pounds has so far been raised for multiple cancer charities and research projects including Prevent Breast Cancer, Young Lives vs Cancer, the Christie Hospital, Blood Cancer UK, Kidscan, Maggie's Centres and The Joshua Tree.
In creating the Tim Bacon Foundation, Jeremy, who has recovered successfully from his own cancer diagnosis in 2018, continues to honour the man who worked alongside him to make their dream of transforming the face of great nights out in Manchester and beyond a reality.
For more information about the Tim Bacon Foundation and details on the Dream The Impossible: The Sequel fundraising event, visit info@timbaconfoundation.co.uk or call 01565 631234.
