A DRIVING force behind a famous North-East savoury snack brand, Keith Gill aimed to give his customers a taste of the world.

Years later, that global focus is now borne out through the people he meets in his latest venture.

Mr Gill, who helped form Phileas Fogg, which put County Durham town Consett on the map, is now running The Old Post Office bread and breakfast, with wife Pauline.

Their endeavour, in Lanchester, near Consett, has welcomed a breadth of people, from airline staff to an Argentine vineyard owner.

Converting their spacious home into a business base, Mr Gill says the move allows the couple, both 63, to step back from the rigours of full-time work, without entirely retiring.

Mrs Gill will end her time as an English and drama teacher at a school in Sunderland this summer, freeing her up to take a more active role at the bed and breakfast, which launched less than a year ago, but has already secured industry accolades.

Mr Gill said it was important to strike the right balance between easing down and a complete stop.

He said: “It’s all about taking control of your life when you are approaching the end of your working life.

“I have been very fortunate to work with good people and teams on some cracking products and innovations.

“But when you get to our age, you want something to keep you going that is not too tiring and that you can put down, and the bed and breakfast is that.

“It’s all about that mental process of saying we do not want to retire but don’t want to do what we have been doing either.

“Everyone should be looking at what they can do; it’s all about finding a strategy that suits you.

“The traditions of retiring and getting a pension are there for this generation, but that is the end, it’s coming to a full stop.

“The scab is being pulled off the pension market.

“We don’t want to be on that same treadmill, which is why the bed and breakfast works.

“Pauline has the skills, I’ve got the industry understanding, we’ve got a nice house, and we are also relatively new grandparents, so that is playing a part as well.

“Pauline, is not only my wife, she is great working partner with immense creativity and drive.

“Teamwork and complementary skills are pivotal to any success, and we are doing something we can enjoy together.”

That pleasure is reaping rewards, with The Old Post Office in distinguished company.

Championed alongside Headlam Hall, near Darlington, by the Durham Taste Awards for its commitment to using local food suppliers, it has also the recipient of an AA gold four-star rating.

Mr Gill said the secret to its immediate success was simple.

He added: “When you think about a bed and breakfast, there are two things.

“If you are going to do the breakfast, to do it properly you need to use quality ingredients and be as local as you can.

“That helped us get the Durham Taste award and the AA rating.

“They prove we are doing something right and are a reflection of our philosophy.

“But we are also blessed with the layout of the building we are in; the bedrooms are massive and we have fantastic space for the people staying here as well as ourselves.

“With the guests, it is fantastic to meet so many people, because everyone has a different story to tell.

“Quite often, once breakfast is finished, we sit down with people and have a chat.

“That is one of the real benefits a bed and breakfast has over a hotel.

“You can build up some rapport with people and they have so far extended across various professions, from airline staff, nuclear physicists, bookbinders and even a vineyard owner in Argentina.”

Although he’s making a name with the bed and breakfast, Mr Gill will always be known for his involvement with Phileas Fogg, which he co-founded with Roger McKechnie in 1982 before selling it for more than £27m in 1993.

Focused on delivering customers a taste of international flavours, the business brought Consett to television viewer’s attention through an advertising campaign, which included a 1988 scene where a folk singer laments Phileas Fogg’s tortilla chips for its impact on a traditional Mexican business.

The brand is now under the control of KP Snacks, which uses Mexican wrestlers and a hillbilly to advertise its flavoured offerings, such as nacho cheese and jalapeno and sweet and smokey barbeque ranges.

However, back in Mr Gill’s day the strategy was a little different.

Fresh from a role moulding the success of Tudor Crisps’ now famous campaign featuring paper boy Terry, he and Mr McKechnie, who also worked for Tudor, took on the luxury end of the crisp market with Phileas Fogg.

Reflecting the main character of the 1873 Jules Verne novel, Around the World in Eighty Days, Mr Gill said it was a marked change in terms of what the sector was offering in both flavours and advertisements, including the tale of French garlic crouton chef Jean Basteaux.

In the commercial, Mr Basteaux was revered across France for his creations, but ended up as a man of the desert legion after someone ruined his reputation by revealing Phileas Fogg’s Mignons Morceaux garlic croutons, which beat his for taste.

Mr Gill said: “We both first started adverts with Terry, the jack-the-lad who would do anything for a bag of Tudor.

“But, when we decided we wanted to do something else, and started building up our plans, we decided we wanted to do something for adults.

“The market at the time had a lot for children, with things like Monster Munch and Skips.

“We worked very hard on Phileas Fogg, but did we think it was going to do well?

“We did not quite envisage it would be as successful as it was; I always say it was an overnight success after six years.

“The advertising guys had three goes at it, using different methods and different stories.

“An animated example using a voiceover didn’t work because of the clash between adults and animation, and one in 1984, using a Hi-de-Hi dance couple didn’t engage consumers.

“But the one focusing on Jean Basteaux worked brilliantly due to its emphasis on juxtaposition between eccentricity and authenticity, as did the folk singer.

“It rocketed the brand into people’s awareness, and sat nicely alongside the well-known brand payoff line of ‘Pay Attention! Authentic snacks from Medomsley Road, Consett’.”