Great British Menu TV role for Hepworth chef Tim Bilton

Mar 11 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

HE is an up-and-coming chef who trained in classical French cuisine under Raymond Blanc.

But Tim Bilton likes nothing more than a tempting plate of tripe.

The chef who runs The Butchers Arms at Hepworth grew up with tripe as a kid.

But he is unlikely to be featuring it in his next venture, when he joins the ranks of the TV chefs.

His talent has come to the notice of TV producers and next month, he will become the latest TV chef when he appears on BBC2’s cookery series, Great British Menu.

The programme retains its distinctive elements: two great culinary talents battle it out in the kitchen each week, competing to create a magnificent British meal that the judges and public consider fitting to represent the country.

The judges are looking for four dishes that represent the best of Britain and a true taste of home, creating a glorious menu of outstanding British food.

Yorkshireman Tim, who runs The Butchers Arms, in Hepworth, is a master of fine dining.

Tim, 35, cooks up contemporary British dishes like Round Green Farm Venison haunch steak with fondant potato, fresh blackberries and Pontefract cake sauce, so he’s not a typical tripe consumer.

But the Yorkshireman, who learned his craft at college in Leeds and ran a restaurant in the city, still has a fondness for tripe.

Whenever he’s back in Leeds, he always calls in at The Tripe Shop in Kirkgate Market, one of the few remaining in the world, and tucks in with gusto.