David Saunders
It takes more than fairy lights and Bing Crosby to make Christmas feel like Christmas — and Côte Brasserie knows it. The restaurant group has teamed up with Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity) in a partnership that’s about heart, not hype, setting a bold £100,000 target to help seriously ill children and their families this festive season.
The plan? Every Côte Brasserie across the UK — all 69 of them — will become a little outpost of goodwill. Guests can chip in an optional quid on their bill, while Côte will add its own £1 every time someone orders the Pigs in Blanket dish. (That’s right, you can now eat bacon for charity.)
Those staying home won’t miss out either: Côte Brasserie will donate £1 for every festive Côte at Home box sold online, with the chance for customers to toss in an extra at checkout. And in a move that would make even Scrooge crack a smile, the restaurant will deliver those same festive boxes to the family accommodation units at Great Ormond Street — ensuring parents who can’t stray far from the hospital can still share a proper Christmas meal together.
“We’re incredibly proud to partner with GOSH Charity and to play a small part in supporting the incredible work they do for children and families,” said Liz Colledge, Côte Brasserie’s Marketing Director. “Our teams and guests have always shown huge generosity, and we hope this campaign will help make a real difference to the lives of those who need it most this Christmas.”
It’s easy to forget that Great Ormond Street isn’t just a hospital — it’s a second home for thousands of families each year. Since 1852, GOSH has relied on donations to fund everything from cutting-edge equipment to the kind of human warmth that can’t be prescribed.
The charity is currently driving a £300 million appeal to build a new world-class Children’s Cancer Centre — a project that will give even more children a fighting chance.
One of those children is five-year-old Yumna. She was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer, when she was two. After long months of treatment, she was declared cancer-free in 2023. Her parents still talk about that GOSH Christmas — the one where Santa somehow found his way to the ward and left her room overflowing with presents. The kind of moment Côte Brasserie is helping to make possible for countless others.
“We are so grateful to Côte Brasserie and their guests for their incredible support this Christmas,” said Chris Carter, Head of Partnership Development at GOSH Charity. “The funds raised through this fantastic partnership will help make every moment matter for seriously ill children at GOSH — from creating festive memories on the wards to ensuring families can stay together over the Christmas period.”
This isn’t about corporate virtue-signalling; it’s about genuine connection. In a season drowning in adverts and empty slogans, Côte Brasserie’s partnership with GOSH Charity actually feels like the real thing — good people doing good, one meal at a time.
So if you find yourself in a Côte Brasserie this Christmas, raise a glass, order the Pigs in Blanket, and know that somewhere in London, a child’s Christmas is a little brighter because of it.
