Having recently opened in May 2023, The Abbey Inn, named after the stunning ruins of Byland Abbey which it overlooks, has been fully, but sensitively, updated with a state-of-the-art Electrolux Professional kitchen, a relaxed dining room and bar area with a cosy roaring fire for pre/post dinner drinks.
The third venue for Tommy Banks and just down the road from his Michelin-starred restaurant The Black Swan, up to 70 covers will experience the hyper-local, sustainably focused menu for which he is renowned, with the menu featuring produce grown and reared from the family’s farm in nearby Oldstead. There is also a very personal relationship with the new venue, with Tommy working there as a pot washer in what was his first ever hospitality job.
The Abbey Inn is the first of his venues to utilise Electrolux Professional equipment with Tommy having limited experience of it beforehand, albeit familiar with the Skyline blast chiller utilised on TV’s `Great British Menu’ where he is a regular ‘veteran chef / mentor’.
But, after experiencing the precision of the Thermaline plancha used to deliver his signature dish of beetroot cooked in beef fat at the 2021 edition of Northcote’s Obsession food festival his interest was piqued. From there, having asked Northcote Executive Chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen for a contact, the breadth of equipment that Electrolux Professional could supply, effectively being the sole supplier, sealed the deal.
Two months on from installation and a month after opening, Tommy is clearly an advocate; `I think any other restaurants / pubs we open, any kitchen refurbs I will 100% recommend the Electrolux Professional range‘. It’s fantastic to see that from an initial positive experience on one piece of equipment, Tommy has trusted Electrolux Professional to deliver a full install at a venue held close to his heart.