Ferrybridge chef living with cancer nominated for inspiration award

A chef who is living and continuing to work with terminal cancer has been nominated for an inspiration award.
Chef Tim Bilton.Chef Tim Bilton.
Chef Tim Bilton.

Tim Bilton was given the devastating news last year that he has incurable cancer after battling the disease since 2013, but has decided to continue living his life to the full.

Prior to his diagnosis, the father-of-two who is originally from Ferrybridge was close to opening a fine dining restaurant and tipped to be a Michelin star chef of the future.

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The 47-year-old admits his fight took him to “some dark places” but now has a much more positive outlook.

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And he admits it was a shock to be short listed for the inspirational individual award at the Yorkshire Choice Awards.

He said: “It came out of the blue, I was not expecting it whatsoever so it’s nice to be nominated, I’m flattered really,

“I have no idea who nominated me.”

In 2013 he was diagnosed with a rare form of eye cancer as he prepared to open a restuarant in Hepworth.

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Undergoing operations and intense chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he was given the devastating news in January last year that his cancer was incurable.

He said: “When someone says those words to you, the world stops, you hear a ringing in your head that I can still hear now.”

He is now receiving immunotherapy which he says is simply “keeping him alive”, but the gruelling treatment can cause tremendous fatigue.

He still battles through and manages to work 35 hours a week at Cannon Hall Farm, near Barnsley.

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He also has his own blog - ‘On a Knife Edge’, in which he shares his daily experiences.

“My mortgage does not stop need paying just because I’ve got cancer.

“I’m a big believer in keeping the brain active.

“There are some days when I can hardly lift my head up, and there are others when I’ve got plenty of energy.

“I don’t know how I’ll feel next week or next month, I don’t look past that.”

To vote for Tim, log onto www.yorkshirechoiceawards.co.uk/

Voting closes on February 1 and the winners will be announced on March 14.

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