Tommy Banks Group names new head chef and executive chef

Alice Power has been promoted to head chef at the Michelin-starred Black Swan in Oldstead.

The former senior sous chef takes over from Callum Leslie, who has been named executive chef of both the Black Swan and the Abbey Inn in Yorkshire, which fall under the wider Tommy Banks Group.

Power joined the Black Swan in October 2021 as chef de partie, having completed a series of stages with Banks and the team following her graduation from Leiths School of Food and Wine in 2019.

She was also previously chef de partie at Carousel in London.

Prior to a career in hospitality, Power had studied History of Art at the University of Leeds and worked for the Civil Service’s Cabinet Office and Treasury departments.

Leslie's executive chef role is a new position created by the Tommy Banks Group. It will see him take responsibility for the menus at both the Black Swan and the Abbey Inn, a 70-cover pub that was launched last year.

Power and Leslie (both pictured) will continue to work closely with each other and the family-run 160-acre farm and three-acre kitchen garden that supplies the restaurants.

Power said: “Callum has been a fantastic mentor and role model and we’ve built such a strong relationship leading the kitchen. I can’t wait to continue working closely with him in our new roles and am excited to see where we take things next.”

Banks added: “I am delighted that Callum will be stepping into this new exec role in our group. Callum is a wonderfully creative chef but also has a 360 view on how to run restaurants and how to develop an incredible guest experience.

"We are totally aligned in our thinking and I am looking forward to working together more and pushing our restaurants to the next level, watch this space.”

Banks' parents bought the Black Swan in 2006 and it has held a Michelin Star since 2012 and a Green Star since 2020.