Living Adventurously Putting Restrictions in Place Enforces Creativity - Living Adventurously #5
Tommy Banks was the youngest chef in the world to be awarded a Michelin star. The Black Swan at Oldstead was rated the best restaurant in the world by TripAdvisor in 2017.
As a connoisseur of banana sandwiches and dehydrated expedition meals, this was not my usual world! But that is exactly what I was interested in on this bicycle ride: to learn about different people's worlds and ask myself how their lessons might overlap with my own.
I was surprised when Tommy agreed to meet me. I thought he would be far too busy and would not waste his time nattering to some bloke on his bike. I made sure to arrive early and swilled my smelly armpits from my water bottles before knocking on the door.
But Tommy was so generous with his time and I loved being shown around the restaurant and the impressive kitchen gardens. I asked him about his choice between running a cheap restaurant or a brilliant one, about how restrictions can encourage creativity, and the catalyst that serious illness proved to be for him.
I asked Tommy about ambition, defining success, as well as the delights of milk vending machines and flapjacks.
And, no, to answer your question, I didn't manage to blag a free Michelin-star meal! Back out onto my bike for more banana sandwiches in the rain...
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Show Notes
- If you enjoy listening to this episode over a cup of coffee and think it might be worth the price, you can buy me a coffee here: www. ko-fi.com/al_humphreys
- Keep up to date with future episodes (and my other adventures, projects and books) with my free monthly newsletter: alastairhumphreys.com/more/subscribe
- Say hello on Twitter and Instagram: @al_humphreys
- Tommy Banks runs the Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York.
- @tommybanks on Instagram.
- Tommy's book, Roots, is available here.
- He focuses on normal, good techniques of cooking - and just does them really well.
- In 2006 Tommy was running a pub, and probably not a very good one. In the credit crunch he was faced with two options to survive: "2-for-1 scampi night" or "do something out of the ordinary".
- The Pub has a bad location - it's hard to get people through the door. Constraints can be good things.
- His thinking when needing to change: "We need a thing - I don't know what it is, but we need a thing."
- Putting restrictions in place (self sufficiency) enforced creativity.
- For the first couple of years of the change in approach they were "serving weird stuff and still nobody was coming".
- When you spend a long time in an area you get an understanding of the seasons.
- Home is a connection you feel, not the buildings or the location.
- Always wanted to be a cricket player but got ill. If he hadn't got ill he would never have gone down the path he is on now.
- I was a horrible skinny kid with a colostomy bag. I needed to pull my finger out and make something of myself.
- Impatience has been a catalyst for success, but it's not sustainable.
- Would you rather play cricket for England or have the best restaurant in the world? Cricket, no question.
- Values of sport that can transfer into business and into life and into the kitchen
- Won a Michelin Star at 24, by using recipes out of other people's cook books. Took time to learn to be original.
- Disappointment of never being quite fulfilled at finishing an achievement.
- Do we actually want to fulfil our ambitions? Or does it just lead us to flatness and emptiness?
- Doing 3 things a day, every day, to make the Black Swan better.
- Endorphins of exercise vs being overwhelmed by the schedule
- Relaxed approach to sharing of secrets. Tell the world, then go find something else. The way you go about things needs to evolve anyway.
- Spontaneity is vital, but so to is organisation in the background
- Sunday lunch tip: Dawney Arms at Newton on Ouse
Transcript
Below is the transcription of our conversation. It's done by AI so is perhaps a wee bit ropey here and there. If these transcripts prove sufficiently useful then I will make the effort to clean then up and make them better. Do let me know if you think it's worth my time to do that. (Or, better still, do it for me...!). If you'd like to listen as you read along you can do that here:
https://otter.ai/s/WR1pkTSCT8-8iXXhc7Wg8Q
Alastair Humphreys
Can I test the levels by asking you how do you cook a fried egg?
Tommy Banks
low temperature, I think.
Alastair Humphreys
Tell me more.
Tommy Banks
well, it depends how you like fried eggs. Some people like them crispy. But the proteins been absolutely frazzled. Heat the oil or even butter if you feel that way. And then a lower temperature almost boil it in the fat so it's nice and soft. And then if you want a bit more CRISP you can always turn the heat up at the end and ...