WORLD CLASS
Foraging success Autumn brings an abundance of foraged foods to the menu, says Michelin-starred chef, Tommy Banks, as he catches up with Elysia Fryer following The Black Swan’s latest accolade
Like many in the hospitality industry, times have been tough. But global pandemic aside, there’s always room for success, as Michelin star chef, Tommy Banks has proven. We’re catching up mid-September, and as the leaves are starting to fall, we are naturally falling back into routine. A routine - or lifestyle - that Tommy has craved in recent months. I guess what is so refreshing about Tommy’s story is that natural growth from family business - their first foray into the world of hospitality in 2006 - to his prestigious presence in the foodie world, serving globally-recognised cuisine from a humble spot in Oldstead, an unassuming village in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire. The Black Swan at Oldstead is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms, set in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It started as a family project having farmed the land surrounding the pub for many years. Tommy’s parents bought the site when he was young, running it as a B&B with no huge ambitions for its food. As you’d expect, his parents Tom and Anne nurtured their own produce growing in the grounds; and as the garden grew, so did Tommy’s skills in the kitchen. It was a natural process, and it’s so wonderful to see the family flourish from farmers to regional, national and now global food icons. After appearances on BBC Two’s Great British Menu and becoming Britain’s youngest Michelin-starred chef at just 24-years-old, it’s safe to say that Tommy is a familiar face to many. But the beauty of this story is that the restaurant’s success and growth is rooted in family life - tradition mixed with a modern, earthy exuberance. It just works. That, and its dedication to the county it lives in. Glorious Yorkshire. There’s a real sense of homegrown creativity here, a celebration of plant to plate dining, using the abundance of fresh, seasonal produce found in the three-acre kitchen garden. Now, the 31-year-old is focusing on building the business. It’s about nurturing guests, getting the best of seasonal produce and pivoting to succeed in a post-pandemic world. Given the recent challenges faced, the restaurant’s most recent award was an obvious boost. The Black Swan at Oldstead has been awarded Tripadvisor’s best fine dining restaurant in the UK and the fourth best in the world. What a way to return to business! “It was a real surprise actually, but a great one,” Tommy smiles. “Accolades and awards have been so far from our thoughts with everything that has gone on in 2020, but it’s been a great surprise and really nice to give the news to the team just a week before the reopening.” The restaurant is not only built on a family unit, but it’s also built on the principles of team spirit. Its success is very much a group effort. “I see the Black Swan as a co-operative of minds,” he explains. “We have great people working here; some real characters with tremendous talent, and it’s their coming together
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that creates something special and leads to such rewards. We want our guests to feel part of it and experience it with us. It’s not just a job for us, it’s a lifestyle.” So after some time away from the busy kitchen and the restaurant floor, this award was the motivation the whole team needed to bounce back. “We were devastated when we had to close both restaurants back in March. We had to think quickly to find a means of continuing to support our customers and suppliers, but also reach our guests in a way that was totally safe. “We started a nationwide food box business called Made in Oldstead, which has been amazing and helped us to support everyone we care about, with employees moving over from the restaurants to work on this.” Alongside that, business is back on track at The Black Swan and its sister site, Roots in York; and for Tommy and his team, it’s about keeping safe, doing what they do best and welcoming customers with open arms. “At the moment it’s more about consolidation - we’ve opened both our restaurants and are happy with how that has gone. “The key priority right now is of course keeping everyone safe. Our main pivot was Made in Oldstead - it was a huge challenge setting up a totally new business from scratch during a global pandemic, but it has led to great things and we’re excited for what we have planned next. It feels great to have emerged from lockdown with an additional business, and one that we hope will continue to thrive.” Another reason for success is of course the tight knit community behind the business. The family force. Generations of Banks have been farming the land surrounding The Black Swan, so taking on the restaurant was the perfect opportunity to showcase everything they do when it comes to proper Yorkshire produce. “My parents, my brother and I all have different roles within the business, but the work is done by a much bigger team. “I head up the cooking and have definitely become the face of the business, while my parents look after the farm, which is obviously integral to everything we do here. “My brother James is a sommelier and works on the drinks side of things. He has also been the driving force behind setting up Made in Oldstead over the lockdown period. “My business partner, Matt Lockwood at Roots in York, is key to everything we do across the businesses and has worked tirelessly on Made in Oldstead over the last few months. “Then there is a much wider team who we now call family. We’re lucky enough to have such great, passionate and talented people working with us. It makes all the difference.” Take any ingredient and the kitchen team has had a hand in its sowing, nurturing, picking, tasting, prepping and cooking. There’s definitely a lot of food love in Tommy’s kitchen, and much of that comes down to his familiarity with plant to plate dining, from a young age growing up on the farm. “My route into food was slightly different to many chefs,” he explains. “I didn’t have any formal training in the kitchen. I come >>
OCT20
