Tommy Banks
Affiliation
Black Swan
Britain's youngest Michelin-starred chef at age 24 (2013)
i. Biography
Tommy Banks (born 3 June 1989) is a British Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur from North Yorkshire who became Britain's youngest Michelin-starred chef at age 24 in 2013 when he took over as head chef of The Black Swan at Oldstead, his parents' pub-turned-destination restaurant. He operates two Michelin-starred establishments—The Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York (opened 2018)—alongside The Abbey Inn at Byland and a food box business called Made In Oldstead, all built on a philosophy of local sourcing, foraging, and seasonal cooking rooted in his family's five-generation farming heritage.
The Archive
Selected Works & Focus Areas
Focus 01
Britain's youngest Michelin-starred chef at age 24 (2013)
Focus 02
Owner of two Michelin-starred restaurants: The Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York
Focus 03
Zero-food-miles culinary philosophy using farm-grown and foraged ingredients
Focus 04
Innovative preservation and fermentation techniques including black garlic and slow-cooked black apples
Focus 05
Self-taught chef with no formal culinary training
Focus 06
Published cookbook 'Roots' (2018), UK winner of Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in Chef category