Yorkshire chef dishes out rhubarb for Valentine’s Day

Chef Tim Bilton showed his charitable side by giving rail commuters bunches of rhubarb

10:18 14 February 2013

Many men dread the thought of having to afford roses on Valentine’s Day for their lady. Well, why not take a leaf out of Yorkshire chef Tim Bilton’s book and save some money by turning to rhubarb, as he handed out bunches of rhubarb to people rather than roses.

The chef, of the award-winning The Butchers Arms, Hepworth, in Yorkshire, stood at Wakefield Westgate train station to hand out the pink-leafed vegetable to commuters ahead of Valentine’s Day.

“Forget flowers this Valentine’s,” Mr. Bilton said. “This Yorkshire ‘love bunch' is pretty-in-pink, healthy and regional. It’s cheaper than roses but less fattening than chocs.”

So, if you’re planning on making your loved one a Valentine’s Day meal and aren’t sure on what ingredients to use, or even if you’re stuck on what to use as a table decoration for your romantic home-made meal, then rhubarb may hold the answer for you!

Mr. Bilton said that “Yorkshire Rhubarb is a gem in the Yorkshire food crown” and that “it’s beautiful to look at and to cook with”. The chef also said that rhubarb is “a true ‘food of love’ grown right here on our doorstep.”

The chef, who took over The Butchers Arms in 2008, which is situated near to the ‘rhubarb triangle’ in Wakefield, has appeared in the BBC’s Great British Menu TV programme.

It is believed that Yorkshire became the first place to cater for growing rhubarb out of season.