BY ALLISON LEE
Tommy Banks is a multi-award-winning chef who champions hyper-local, sustainable, and seasonal produce. As Chef Patron and Co-Owner, he oversees The Black Swan, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Oldstead, North Yorkshire.
Born and raised in the small village of Oldstead, Tommy comes from a farming background and has watched his family farm the local land throughout his life. In 2006, the family bought a run-down village pub and added a food menu. Just six years later, in 2012, the restaurant earned its first Michelin star. Tommy took over as Head Chef in 2013, and The Black Swan retained its star—making him the youngest-ever chef to achieve the accolade.
Despite his success, Tommy’s journey into cooking was anything but typical. Originally aiming for a career in professional cricket, his plans changed when he developed ulcerative colitis at just 18. The serious illness led to three major surgeries and a prolonged period of immobility, during which his passion for cooking grew stronger.
As his hospitality business has grown, Tommy has become acutely aware of the negative associations linked to working in the industry. Consequently, he has prioritised his staff’s wellbeing. Despite incurring significant losses, he decided to close The Black Swan on Sundays—the second-busiest day of the week—to maintain a healthy work-life balance for his team.
Tommy identifies three seasons: the preserving season, the hunger gap, and the time of abundance. Guided by self-sufficiency and waste reduction, the menus at The Black Swan evolve with produce grown, harvested, or foraged from the Banks’ 160-acre farm, 3-acre gardens, and surrounding areas. Unique to North Yorkshire and the time of year, the team works with exceptional flavours and ingredients such as alpine strawberries, fennel pollen, chicory root, jostaberries, and wineberries. To preserve these ingredients at their best, techniques including fermenting, clamping, and drying are employed.
The Black Swan has been a treasured part of the Banks family’s heritage for twenty years, set on land farmed by the family for generations. Under Tommy’s leadership and the dedicated efforts of his team, the restaurant has transformed into the Michelin-starred destination it is today. Tommy calls The Black Swan a “co‑operative of minds,” noting his team’s “tremendous talent” and that “their coming together creates something special.” The farm setting allows the team to grow, pick, forage, and preserve produce that continually inspires the menus. Over the years, the family has expanded their livestock to include Dexter and Jersey cattle, Herdwick sheep, and various pig breeds.
In 2018, the family opened a sister restaurant, Roots, in the heart of York, earning stellar reviews from national critics. Roots’ tasting menus are based on produce grown in Oldstead and draw inspiration from the Banks family’s farming heritage. The menus also showcase preservation methods, presenting produce harvested months, years, or even decades ago. Roots earned a Michelin star in 2021.
In May 2023, The Tommy Banks Group opened their latest acquisition, The Abbey Inn—a relaxed pub with rooms overlooking the gothic ruins of historic Byland Abbey.
In recognition of their sustainability efforts, The Black Swan was honoured with a Michelin Green Star in 2021 and received 3 Sustainability Circles in the 360°Eat Guide UK 2025.
Tommy continues to share his passion and expertise as the author of the award-winning cookbook Roots and as a familiar face on British cooking programmes including Great British Menu, Saturday Kitchen, and James Martin’s Saturday Morning.
Allison Lee is a smallholder from North Yorkshire who has written for the Yorkshire Times and other publications. Her website can be accessed here.