Tommy Banks, The Black Swan and Made in Oldstead - What's new for Yorkshire's Michelin-starred chef

Still in his early 30s, Tommy’s business empire has grown far above The Black Swan at Oldstead, the restaurant run from his family’s farm in North Yorkshire. He now runs Roots, in York,a canned wine brand and Made in Oldstead, a premium food box delivery service launched during lockdown when the restaurants were forced to close.

Made in Oldstead has announced two new developments for its boxes recently. The first sees Tommy team up with The Yorkshire Pasta Company to launch two new meals in their midweek range; lamb shoulder and sungold tomato ragu served with Mezze Maniche Rigate pasta from The Yorkshire Pasta Company and Oldstead focaccia, followed by an indulgent chocolate pot and blackberry gel for dessert, and also vegetarian mushroom and sungold ragu served with Mezze Maniche Rigate pasta from The Yorkshire Pasta Company and Oldstead focaccia, followed by zingy lemon verbena posset for dessert.

On top of that, Made in Oldstead has also launched a world-first charcuterie and wine delivery box. The box contains cured meats from pigs reared on the family farm, pickles grown and canned wine. The box is available to buy until Christmas.

Tommy Banks said: "I'm passionate about working with local suppliers, so when the Made In Oldstead team and I decided to launch our new line of gourmet comfort food menus, it was a no-brainer to partner with Yorkshire Pasta Company. A really quality, British product made with love and time, and pairs perfectly with our ragu."

Kathryn Bumby, Founder of The Yorkshire Pasta Company, added: “As a food lover I have been a huge fan of Tommy Banks, I first ate at the Black Swan in 2011 and was further mesmerised by his cooking on BBC’s ‘The Great British Menu’ series where he won the competition in 2016 & 2017. His Made In Oldstead boxes are of exceptional quality and allow you to experience his gastronomy in the comfort of your own home. For him and the team to be using our products is an absolute dream come true’.

That may seem like enough to keep Tommy busy, but on top of all that, from 2023 The Black Swan at Oldstead will be opening for an extra day in the week, on Tuesdays. To celebrate the launch of the Tuesday opening days, anyone who books to dine at the Michelin-starred restaurant on a Tueday night will receive the paired drinks package for free.

Tommy took over The Black Swan at Oldstead, which already had a Michelin star, when he was just 23 and shot to fame after retaining the star the following year. He has since become a staple of the foodie scene after appearing on BBCs’ Great British Menu, which he won twice. He has since written a number of cookbooks and appeared at food festivals across the country.