Swinton Estate: £500,000 investment for Samuel's Restaurant on historic Yorkshire estate

Samuel’s Restaurant, on the Swinton Estate, near Masham, is run by top chef Ruth Hansom, who has previously appeared on Great British Menu and also won the prestigious Roux Scholarship. She has extended her six-month residency to help see the restaurant through the changes, before handing over to Nicole Benham-Corlette, who will take over the reins as interim head chef. She is also a former Roux Scholar.

In January, the restaurant will have £500,000 spent on it to update the entire kitchen, equipment and workflows. This will also allow the restaurant to reduce its carbon footprint, in line with the estate’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2030.

A statement from the estate said: “The investment is part of the wider estate’s focus on sustainability, and will replace older equipment with the latest energy-efficient kit to further lower the carbon footprint. The restaurants on the Swinton Estate already have a superb reputation for using ‘estate-to-plate’ produce to reduce food miles to an absolute minimum, using estate-reared meat from local farms and with an extensive kitchen garden providing seasonal vegetables, fruit and herbs.”

Ruth said: ”What a great opportunity working on the Swinton Estate. I have had a fabulous time with the team and look forward to working with them until the end of the year; on future projects and in continuing to champion Swinton Estate produce.”

Ruth will be returning to the Swinton Estate to offer ‘pop-ups’ and Chef’s Table experiences. The process to find a new residency or Head Chef for the restaurant is now underway, the restaurant said.

Andrew Mackay, general manager, added: “This is a very exciting time for the team at Samuel’s Restaurant, where they will have access to a brand new kitchen in which to prepare the finest Yorkshire food. We are incredibly grateful to Ruth for staying on to help us see this project through, and we’re confident that our ambitious plans will continue to attract and retain the best established and up-and-coming chefs to the estate.”