Designed and Made in Oldstead
The Black Swan is a reflection of everyone that works here and the team work together on everything that we do. We design and build most things ourselves; whether it’s growing our own food, developing our own cocktails, interior design, graphics, menus, inside and out, whatever. It’s us.
Designed and made in Oldstead.
We most recently decided to redesign our restaurant, adding a front kitchen in January of this year, which really opens the restaurant up, allowing customers to watch the chefs at work and also allows the chefs to seamlessly serve the food they’ve prepared, and tell the customers the full story behind each dish.
This is something that’s really important to us, as so much work goes on ‘behind the scenes’ to produce the dishes we serve. As Sean, one of our Chef de parties talks about in his blog it makes the job so much more rewarding; serving amazing food, with our own produce and being able to talk so easily and emotively about everything that’s on the plate directly to the customer.
We’ve been wanting to modernise the restaurant decor for a while now, and with our 10th Anniversary back in August 2016, we decided it was the perfect time to create a new fresher feel. We are lucky to have so many creative minds working here …
Alan joined The Black Swan team almost 2 years ago. He knows The Bankses well, having gone to school with both James and Tommy. Alan’s background began in furniture design, but after working in numerous restaurants over the years, he decided that hospitality is actually where he wanted to be. When he was given the opportunity to work at The Black Swan he took it quick sharp, and really enjoyed what we do here. He got very involved with the garden, and is now one of our produce gardeners. BUT, when it came to redesigning our restaurant Alan who took the lead with the design and research needed to transform our restaurant. Along with TB, (Tom Banks – Father to Tommy and James) he came up with some fantastic ideas…
So through in-depth research and an inspirational collage or two, Alan and TB found the perfect chairs for the restaurant. Simple, expertly made and sourced just 8 miles away in Thirsk. The Neva chair is a 2015 Interior Innovation Award winner. It’s designed by Ruder Novak-Milulic and Marija Ruzic, based in Zagreb , who are part of a group of young Croatian designers.
Chairs ordered; the transformation could begin!
But when it came to tables, even after weeks of looking they couldn’t find anything that they felt fitted in with The Black Swan. So, it was decided that, in the true Black Swan style, we would make them ourselves with the help of Andy and Ollie, the handymen of The Black Swan.
Design Ideas:
And making:
Inspiration was taken from organic shapes with the idea of bringing the stunning Yorkshire landscape into our dining experience. Every table is unique; with interwoven metal legs representing sapling trees in tangled undergrowth; the result of many hours of bending and welding in the farm workshop.
The final product:
Come visit and see the new restaurant-
Book a table here: blackswanoldstead.co.uk
More information on our Treske chairs can be found here:
www.treske.co.uk/home-furniture/item/artisan-neva-chair