Rosemary Shrager WE LOV E YO
Culinary legends including Gordon, Delia & Jamie’s messages
CELEBRITY cooks are whipping up support for TV chef Tim Bilton, who has months to live.
The outpouring of love from the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver is helping raise funds for Tim, 47, who was struck down with skin cancer.
Their warm messages came after fellow chef Jean-christophe Novelli told them about the “truly brave and inspiring” former Great British Menu star.
Despite his diagnosis and tough treatment, Tim still works as head chef at Cannon Hall Farm in Barnsley.
Among the other culinary legends sending their love to Tim are Mary Berry, Delia Smith and Gino D’acampo.
Devastating
Tim was diagnosed with a rare melanoma in his left eye in 2013, just before he started his own restaurant The Spiced Pear in Holmfirth, West Yorks.
He said: “I had the cancer cut out of my eye and chemotherapy injections into my eyeball.”
Tim, who also had radiotherapy to his eye, thought he had beaten the cancer but in August 2015 a lump on the side of the face confirmed it was back.
He had major surgery to his head and neck to remove his salivary glands and some lymph nodes, robbing him of his sense of taste. He said: “For a chef it was the worst possible thing to happen, to not be able to taste was devastating.
“Before this happened, I was on TV and heading towards my first Michelin star and nothing could stop me.”
Tim’s weight dropped from 17.5st to 9st during treatment which left him with awful mouth ulcers, unable to swallow or eat. He said: “I went to a dark place, hiding myself away during this bout of cancer. It was awful.” But Tim fought back and got on with his life.
In January he began to feel pain in his leg and was struggling to walk and sleep. Two months later his oncologist told him his cancer was back and was in his bones and a gland above his kidney and was at stage 4 and incurable.
He was given 12 months to live. He said: “I just felt empty but I felt worse for my wife
Adele and the boys, oys,
Charlie and Henry. y.
“Coming to o terms with the fact t that you won’t see your boys grow up was the hardest thing.” But unlike last time he has a positive mindset, has started a blog, On a Knife Edge, and begun immunotherapy hoping to give himself more quality time with his family.
Tim said: “I’ve come to terms with my own death and I have decided that I want m my time left to be filled with jo joy. I want to still work while I can and provide for my fami family as a chef that has been v very important.”
He told his boys, who are seven and 13, the terrible news straight away. Tim believes people need to be able to talk about death more. He said: “I have peace around my death and I have a heigh ened feeling of senses like I’m going int a new sphere. I get goosebumps fro wind blowing or a bird or a sunrise. celebrate that I am alive today.”
He is planning a trip to New Yor where he and Adele honeymooned. H boys will also lead out his beloved Leed United. Last week he achieved his drea of visiting Gordon Ramsay’s new Luck Cat restaurant after the chef invited him
Adele, 37, said: “It’s been hard for u accepting that Tim won’t get better bu his attitude this time is inspiring.
“The fact that despite going throug treatment he still gets out of bed t provide for his family, he is an amazin father and husband and I’m so proud o