StreetSmart Christmas campaign raised £445,000 for charity

London restaurant charity StreetSmart has raised £455,000 during its 2009 Christmas campaign.

More than 550 restaurants in 18 cities throughout the UK took part in the annual fundraising campaign in November and December including those of Michelin-starred chefs such as Gordon Ramsay, Giorgio Locatelli, Tom Kitchin and Fergus Henderson.

The highest earners among the restaurants were Selfridges, Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food at Heathrow's T5 and Maze, Harvey Nichols in Leeds and London, OXO Tower, Joe Allen, Nobu, Smiths of Smithfield and Skylon.

Gordon Ramsay said: "StreetSmart has become part of Christmas for us. It is everyone's chance to do the right thing at the right time, with only the gentlest nudge."

StreetSmart raises money for the homeless by asking diners to add £1 to their bill. Sponsored by Deutsche Bank, which covers all of the charity's administration costs, all proceeds are used for projects supporting people back to employment and sustainable independent living.

Since its inception, StreetSmart has raised more than £4.2m to help the homeless.

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By Kerstin Kühn

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