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24
Jul
Opening date revealed for Knaresborough pub revived by Michelin-star chef
A well-known country pub near Knaresborough will re-open under new ownership next month.
The Stray Ferret revealed in May Tommy Banks, a North Yorkshire-born chef who boasts two Michelin stars, was set to revive The General Tarleton in Ferrensby.
He has worked alongside Matthew Lockwood, James Banks and Neil Armstrong, who together form a new pub group called Jeopardy Hospitality.
In a post on social media at the time, Mr Banks said it is becoming increasingly difficult to run a business in the hospitality sector – with “no sign of progressive legislation” to help small and medium-sized businesses.
In an update today (July 24), Mr Banks announced The General Tarleton will open on August 29 and bookings are now live.
He said the renovation project has been “so special”, adding:
Restoring this beautiful old coaching inn back to its former glory has been a big job but a mission that will be incredibly worthwhile.
It is heartbreaking seeing all the hospitality businesses closing at the moment and I hope the reopening of the GT will be good news for everyone.
Drawings of the renovated pub. Credit: Tommy Banks / The General Tarleton.
The General Tarleton, which was one of the best known gastropubs in the Harrogate district, was listed for sale for £1.2 million in April 2024.
It came after the site shut its doors in the months prior.
Father and daughter, Jonathan and Sarah Morris, spent £500,000 refurbishing the Ferrensby pub after taking over from previous owners, Suzanne and John Topham, in 2021.
Mr Banks today added he hopes The General Tarleton, which also has eight on-site bedrooms, will become a “busy pub rooted in community” – somewhere people can go for a “pint, a midweek meal, a special family occasion or a date night”.
He said:
We just want it to be a proper hospitality venue. We have created a great bar space just for drinking, cozy tables for family dining, a beautiful light conservatory and the barn, which will be awesome for events and private dining. The rooms have had a beautiful makeover ready for a cozy getaway.
Mr Banks said the menu will be based on dishes he "really likes to eat", including pies, fish, soufflés and a “proper roast dinner”.
His post added:
I hope to see you all at the GT soon and our first foray for Jeopardy Hospitality is a success. Hospitality venues are so important to our community, we need to support them and that is our mission to reopen great spaces and bring them out of jeopardy.
Mr Banks, a former pupil at Outwood Academy in Easingwold, is a three-time winner of BBC’s The Great British Menu.
The 36-year-old took home first place in 2016, 2017 and 2020, and became a judge on the programme.
His sites, The Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York, have both been awarded a Michelin star.
Pie theft
The Stray Ferret reported on a van theft in Melmberby, which contained 2,500 pies, in December last year.
The stolen goods, which belonged to Mr Banks, were estimated to be worth £25,000.
The pies were to be sold at Tommy’s Pie Shop, a pop-up owned by Mr Banks, at York Christmas Market.
Mr Banks issued a personal plea to the thieves at the time, urging them to “drop the pies off somewhere”.
North Yorkshire Police later said the van, which was found with false number plates on, had been abandoned in the Hemlington area of Middlesborough and was recovered by Cleveland Police.
Mr Banks told BBC News at the time the stolen pies - which included steak and ale pies, turkey and cranberry pies and butternut squash pies – would have been about a week’s worth of stock for the pop-up pie shop.
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