An eat all you want buffet restaurant was completely booked in less than 20 minutes when it invited NHS and emergency services staff and the Armed Forces to dine for free.
COSMO World Buffet restaurant, on Deansgate, played host to more than 300 Bluelight cardholders working across the city and beyond when it held the event on Wednesday evening.
It was the first time that the popular restaurant, which serves dishes from a range of countries including Thailand, India, China as well as Europe, had invited diners in following the coronavirus pandemic.
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It will officially open for business this weekend – which is almost fully booked – but staff wanted to make up for lost time by treating those who worked especially hard during the pandemic to a free meal out with their families.
Among those taking up the offer was psychiatric nurse Angela Watson who works for Trafford Health and Justice Team, who was joined by her mum Sheila, a retired community nursing auxiliary. Angela’s sons George Watson-Bruffell (16) and Thomas Watson-Bruffell (15) completed the group.
It will officially open for business this weekend
Angela, who lives in Salford, said: “I wasn’t on the frontline, but I did work throughout the pandemic and events like this means such a lot because it means we haven’t been forgotten.
“We absolutely love COSMO, especially the boys, and so we are really thrilled it’s open again.”
Natalie Shorrocks is a mental health nurse who works at Chorley Hospital. She was dining with her 11-year-old daughter Millie Gerrard and 11-week-old baby Frankie.
She said: “As a mental health nurse we just had to carry on throughout the pandemic and we obviously couldn’t social-distance, because sometimes we have to restrain people.
“We were quite scared in the early days, and so were our families, but we just had to get on with our job. So, we are really pleased to be here this evening; it shows that we are appreciated and we don’t always feel that.”
Laura Jones works as a receptionist at Bredbury Medical Centre, in Stockport. She was visiting COSMO with her partner Chris Valentine and their daughter four-year-old Lilie-Mae Valentine.
Laura said: “We were working all the way through the pandemic, and we got such a lot of grief, and we are still getting it now, because we aren’t always able to offer face-to-face appointments. We still get a lot of stick, it sometimes makes me wonder why we bother.”
Melissa Stock was working as a student nurse in A&E at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital during the pandemic, while also holding down a job as a health care assistant at Royal Bolton Hospital.
She said: “It was scary and my family were really worried about me. I’d get in from work and my clothes had to go straight in the washing machine and I went straight in the shower.
“I was working both jobs all through the pandemic and it was hard work, but so important. In a way it seems like a distant memory now and I hope we never have to go down that path again.
“Tonight, has been such a treat. I have bought my siblings and my niece and mum and although it’s COSMO’s way of saying thank you to me, it’s also my way of saying thank you to my family too.”
COSMO is a family restaurant which opened in the city in 2017, following a £1m refurbishment of the three-storey building on Deansgate.
Diners can choose from a mammoth 55 metres of global cuisine including Chinese, Italian, Indian, Brazilian and Malaysian dishes which are cooked in front of them at eight live cooking stations.
The 25,000 sq ft restaurant, which seats 350 diners, has won national awards for its interior which was designed by Robert Angell, who has previously created restaurants for The Savoy, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Waring.
COSMO spokesman Kan Koo said: “We’re delighted that so many emergency services staff took up our invitation and joined us for a well-earned meal. They were certainly quick off the mark – as soon as we opened the booking lines almost all the tables were snapped up.
“We have really enjoyed hearing about their experiences, and it has helped our staff to prepare for opening up for real this weekend.
“I think everybody realises how much we all owe the emergency staff for their hard work over the past 18 months. The pandemic has been tough on everyone, including our own industry, and we’re so happy to be opening COSMO Manchester once again.”
