Tommy Banks is chef/owner at the one Michelin starred, The Black Swan at Oldstead in York.
The Black Swan at Oldstead is a restaurant with rooms created by The Banks family who have lived and farmed around Oldstead for centuries.
Biography
When Tommy Banks began cooking at his family's pub and restaurant, his only experience was washing pots and a brief encounter with his school food technology classes – from which he had been banned for being a little bit disruptive.
Fast forward a few years to 2013 and the 24 year old was awarded a Michelin star making him the youngest chef in Britain to be awarded the accolade.
Yet the chef, who has no formal training, was not always so enthusiastic about food, his first love was sport but after a few chefs left Tommy’s family in the lurch, the teenager was brought into the kitchen to help out.
His farming parents, Anne and Tom, bought the rundown pub in 2006 and set about transforming it with eldest son, James, handling front of house and Tommy working in the kitchen.
The then teenager was not even sure that cooking was for him - but a combination of the recession and a serious illness made up his mind.
Although not formally trained, Tommy has learned his craft in some of the country’s
