A RYEDALE hotel is celebrating after retaining its three AA rosettes.

Matt Tyler, who has recently taken over as head chef at The Gallery restaurant at The Black Swan in Helmsley, has held onto the prestigious award.

Jeremy Rata, a spokesman for the hotel, said: “When I arrived at the hotel in late spring last year, it was clear to me that the culinary direction at The Black Swan needed to be tweaked.”

Previous chef Alan O’Kane set the change of style into motion, with a focus on classical dishes. The AA made the decision to revisit the venue after Alan’s departure.

Jeremy said: “Matt’s unique and extraordinary talent - and obsession with quality of produce and utilising his exemplary training at some fantastic properties - means his dedication has been recognised.”

Matt said: “I am thrilled that we have retained what is a very important accolade to us. Like comfort food, everybody has that one thing they love and keep going back to it. This is how I want the restaurant to be.

“I want people to say that they’ve had the best steak of their life and that they just have to come back. If accolades do follow, that’s great.”

Simon Numphud, managing director of AA Hotel and Hospitality Services, said: “The Black Swan has held the prestigious award for a number of years, and it is great to see that under the new direction of head chef, Matt Tyler that the high standards of cuisine that we have come to expect have been maintained.”