Sustainable star

Tommy Banks, York

Tommy Banks jokes that his committed approach to sustainability simply stems from being a “tight Yorkshireman” and any frugality comes from growing up in a farming family. But his methods go well beyond saving money at his Michelin-starred and internationally acclaimed restaurant-with-rooms The Black Swan at Oldstead and York small-plates restaurant, Roots. The majority of produce used in both kitchens is as local as the Black Swan’s garden and family farm itself, the rest is from small local suppliers – often the fruit and veg no-one else wants, such as 80kg of unripe strawberries. But it’s the way the produce is utilised that makes Tommy a true sustainability star – from using one Hispi cabbage to feed 16 people (the outside leaves are used as wraps at the Black Swan, while the hearts are roasted at Roots), to the waste whey, from homemade cheese using raw milk, which is used four times, across two savoury dishes, in ice cream, and caramelised and grated on top of carrots. “There’s no reject produce and everything gets used rather than it just ending up in the compost,” says Banks, who employs three full-time chefs just to preserve produce (there’s enough dried, fermented and pickled stuff to fill a shipping container). Any surplus pickles, jams and pickles are now sold at farmers’ markets, and plenty more is infused in alcohol, like a peppery nasturtium bud vodka. And it’s not just the food that’s sustainable: Tommy cares about the wellbeing and mental health of his staff enough to reduce their hours to a four-day week and offers weekly check-ins about anxiety and diet. He even provides nutritionally balanced staff meals and creates a special vitamin C-enriched drink for staff to fill up and prevent dehydration during a busy shift, rather than consume unhealthy energy drinks. He’s also mindful of his carbon footprint, using induction hobs rather than gas and, because they’re not on mains electricity at The Black Swan, the waste heat from a diesel generator is used to heat up water tanks to heat water for the restaurant’s bedrooms, as well as the polytunnel where the seedlings grow. blackswanoldstead.co.uk; rootsyork.com

Head judge Laura Rowe says: Tommy Banks doesn’t need to care this much – his food is world-class and his restaurants are booked out as a result – but thinking this way is ingrained in him. Sustainability makes him and his team more creative, and the quality of what they are producing has gone up as a result. From produce, to people, to plate – Tommy truly cares about the impact he’s having. Other chefs take note! »