Oldstead: Where family roots inspire innovation and sustainability

Here’s the chance to come and explore The Michelin-starred Black Swan Oldstead’s impressive two-acre Kitchen Garden, before sitting down to enjoy the lunch-tasting menu. Nestled on the edge of the North York Moors between the historic Byland Abbey ruins and the Kilburn White Horse, The Black Swan Oldstead is a Michelin-starred, 4 AA Rosette restaurant run by chef Tommy Banks that also has rooms to stay. The restaurant’s team spend their days growing, picking, fermenting and pickling produce, wasting nothing wherever possible, and their efforts resulted in a Michelin Green Star in 2021, recognising Tommy and his colleagues’ continued commitment to sustainable gastronomy.

Lead by executive chef Callum Leslie and head chef Alice Power, The Black Swan Oldstead is the jewel in the crown of Tommy Banks’ restaurant group. It sits alongside the family’s 160-acre farm which is expertly managed by his father, Tom, and his team, together with the two-acre kitchen garden, which influences the menu all year around - and provides ingredients for Tommy’s other venues, the Michelin-starred Roots York and The Abbey Inn, Byland.

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Group of people collecting ingredients in the kitchen garden

Stylishly grounded in tradition and culture yet cut through with modern, gastronomic creativity, The Black Swan dining experience is an intimate reflection of the Banks family’s character, place and lives. They have developed new ideas from a constantly refreshed palate of produce which is grown, reared, and foraged in and around Oldstead. Dishes are seasonal but the menu is not completely dictated by the seasons, as the team regularly use pickled and preserved ingredients throughout the year, particularly in the gap when produce isn’t growing, and foraged ingredients are sparse.

They offer two menus: the full tasting menu which is served from Tuesdays to Saturdays and a slightly shorter lunch menu at £135 served on Saturdays. This format allows the chefs to bring together everything grown and developed into a special dining experience. The Black Swan also has nine stylish bedrooms with bathrooms with rolltop baths, perfect for those wanting to make the most of Oldstead and the beautiful surrounding area with their one or two night stay experiences.

Located in the tiny village of Oldstead just under an hour’s drive from York, The Black Swan is not a place you pass on the way to somewhere else. But it’s well worth the pilgrimage!

Enter now

For your chance to win lunch for two at the Black Swan Oldstead, just answer this question:

Roughly how many plants does our horticultural team grow each year?

The closing date for entries to the competition is Monday 23 June 2025.

Enter here

Terms and conditions apply.

Entry to the competition is strictly restricted to people aged 18 and over.

Winners will be chosen at random from all correct entries.

The prize is only redeemable on a Saturday lunch for a noon reservation through July, August and September 2025. Your tour will be conducted by one of the Black Swan Oldstead’s garden team and will commence at 11.15am prior to your table reservation. The prize Includes one lunch tasting menu per person for a maximum of two guests. Supplement dishes, drinks or extras are not included and are to be paid for at the end of your meal.

Competition terms and conditions

Your North Yorkshire publication competition and prize draw terms and conditions

  1. The competition is open to all UK residents aged 18 years or over.
  2. All correct and eligible entries into the competition will be entered into the prize draw.
  3. All competition entries must be submitted online or on a postcard or letter to Editor, Your North Yorkshire, Communications Team, North Yorkshire Council, County Hall, Racecourse Road, Northallerton, DL7 8AD and only one entry per person is permitted.
  4. The opening date and closing date for entries to the competition shall be as specified in competition information. Entries received after this time will not be considered or entered into the prize draw.
  5. The entity offering the competition is North Yorkshire Council of County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AD. North Yorkshire Council accepts no responsibility for entries not received for whatever reason, including, but not limited to human error, any technical fault, technical malfunction, computer hardware or software failure, satellite, network or server failure of any kind.
  6. One winner from the prize draw entries will be chosen by random draw on the draw date.
  7. Winners will receive the prizes as specified in the competition information from North Yorkshire Council or the provider of the prizes (as applicable).
  8. Winners will be notified before the notification date and must provide a valid UK postal address to claim the prizes. If a winner does not respond to North Yorkshire Council within five business days of being notified by North Yorkshire Council, then the winner's prize will be forfeited and North Yorkshire Council will select another winner from the prize draw at random.
  9. The prize for the winner is non-exchangeable, non-transferable and no cash alternative is offered.
  10. The decision of North Yorkshire Council regarding any aspect of the competition and/or the prize draw is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into in respect of the same.
  11. The winner's name and county can be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the Communications Team, North Yorkshire Council, County Hall, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 8AD no earlier than 42 days nor later than 84 days after the date of the closing date of the prize draw.
  12. Participants are deemed to have accepted and agreed to be bound by these terms and conditions upon entry. North Yorkshire Council reserves the right to refuse entry, or refuse to award prizes to anyone in breach of these terms and conditions.
  13. North Yorkshire Council reserves the right to hold void, cancel, suspend, or amend the competition and/or the prize draw where it becomes necessary to do so.
  14. Insofar as is permitted by law, North Yorkshire Council, its agents or employees will not in any circumstances be responsible or liable to compensate the winner or accept any liability for any loss, damage, personal injury or death occurring as a result of taking up the prize except where it is caused by the negligence of North Yorkshire Council its agents or employees. Your statutory rights are not affected.
  15. Winners may be required to participate in publicity related to the prize draw which may include the publication of their name in any media.
  16. Personal data supplied during the course of the competition and the prize draw may be passed on to third parties only insofar as required for delivery of the prize in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.
  17. The competition and prize draw will be governed by English law submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.

Privacy notice

This Privacy Notice is designed to help you understand how your personal data is processed in relation to any Your North Yorkshire competition. This notice should be read in conjunction with our Corporate Privacy Notice.

Who are we?

North Yorkshire Council is a ‘Data Controller’ as defined by Article 4(7) of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This means that we have a duty of care towards the personal data that we collect and use. The Council has appointed Veritau Ltd to be its Data Protection Officer. Their contact details are:

Data Protection Officer (Veritau Ltd)
County Hall
Racecourse Lane
Northallerton
DL7 8AL

infogov@northyorks.gov.uk / 01904 552848.

By entering this competition you are giving your consent for us to contact you in the event that you are the winner. We will never pass on your details without your consent or use your information for any other purpose. Personal data of the winner may be passed on to third parties only insofar as required for delivery of the prize.

If you are unhappy with the way in which your data has been handled or the way in which a data protection request has been answered then you may complain to our data protection officer.

If you are still unhappy with the response from our data protection officer, or if you would rather complain straight to a regulator, then you may make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office which regulates data protection and information governance matters in the UK.

First Contact Team 
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House 
Water Lane 
Wilmslow Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Email: casework@ico.org.uk

For further information on how the Council processes your personal data, including your rights, please refer to our Corporate Privacy Notice.