The Black Swan, Oldstead: Yorkshire restaurant owned by Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks named AA Sustainable Restaurant of the Year 2026

The Black Swan Oldstead - owned by Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks - was named AA Sustainable Restaurant of the Year 2026-27.

The Black Swan Oldstead is a Michelin-starred restaurant with rooms which was originally bought by the Banks family in 2006 and transformed from a local village pub.

The restaurant has been named AA Sustainable Restaurant of the Year 2026-27 at the AA Hospitality Awards held at the JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, Park Lane.

The new award reflects the AA’s continued commitment to honouring sustainability within the hospitality industry, recognising restaurants that reduce waste and food miles and support local producers and responsible supply chains.

The win comes at a time when The Black Swan celebrates its 20th anniversary, recognising the restaurant’s dedication to hyper-local, sustainable sourcing and its duty as custodians of the land.

Ingredients are grown in its two-acre kitchen garden, foraged locally and reared just metres from the kitchen, reducing food miles and allowing the team to work closely with each ingredient from the ground to the plate.

This ethos began in 2025 when The Black Swan removed fish and seafood entirely from its tasting menu.

The kitchen, led by head chef Alice Power and executive chef Callum Leslie, deepened its focus on ingredients from Oldstead and the surrounding area, while developing new techniques to make fuller use of what the landscape provides.

The central focus of The Black Swan is preservation, led by a committed full-time foraging and preservation team.

Working closely with the farm and kitchen, the team captures ingredients at their seasonal peak through fermenting, pickling and preserving. This extends each harvest, reduces waste and allows the surrounding landscape to shape the menu throughout the year.

The restaurant’s hyper-local focus means ingredients such as lemons and soy sauce are not used; instead, the team creates its own acids and seasonings by fermenting produce including gooseberries, rhubarb and wood sorrel.

Tommy Banks said: “Sustainability is central to everything we do at The Black Swan, from the way we farm, forage and preserve ingredients to the decisions we make about what belongs on the menu.

“For us, it isn’t a standalone initiative; it’s an approach that has developed over 20 years of working with the land and learning how to make the most of what it gives us.

“By growing and rearing much of our own produce, capturing ingredients at their peak and finding creative ways to use every part of each harvest, we can reduce waste while creating a menu that genuinely reflects and celebrates our unique surroundings.

“To receive this prestigious award in our 20th anniversary year feels especially meaningful and is a real testament to the care, creativity and hard work of the entire team.”

The Black Swan retained its 4 AA Rosettes at the ceremony and was also named Gourmet Bolthole of the Year at the Food and Travel Reader Awards 2025, and placed at number 71 at The National Restaurant Awards 2026.