Parmo

Parmesan, chicken parmo/Parmesan or Tees parmo,[1] is a dish originating in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, and found throughout urban northern England. It consists of a breaded cutlet of chicken or pork topped with a white béchamel sauce and cheese, commonly cheddar cheese.[2]

This article is about the cutlet, bechemal and cheese dish named after a type of cheese. For cheese, see parmesan. For the Argentinian footballer, see Pablo Parmo.

In an April 2019 survey, parmo ranked 20th in Britain's Top 20 Favourite Takeaways.[3]

History

Origins

Parmo is said to have been created by Nicos Harris, a chef with the United States Army in World War II. He was wounded in France, but was brought to the United Kingdom to be treated in a British hospital. Eventually, he moved to Middlesbrough and opened a restaurant, The American Grill, on Linthorpe Road, where he created parmo in 1958. His son-in-law, Caramello, still lived in Teesside as of 2014, continuing the family tradition.[2]

Supermarket sales

In 2009, supermarket chain Asda started selling parmo in their shops around the river Tees. They claimed they were selling 6,000 chicken parmos a week, making them at the time the shop's fastest-selling line. Asda later expanded this line to branches outside Teesside.[4][5]

Variations
Small homemade hot shot parmo

Common parmo variants include additional toppings and preparations of the meat. These include:

  • Parmo hotshot - a spicy version topped with cheese, pepperoni, peppers, garlic butter and chilli
  • Parmo Kiev - topped with cheese, garlic butter and mushrooms
  • Parmo Italia - topped with cheese, garlic butter and ham, with a further topping of mozzarella cheese
  • Meat feast parmo - topped with pepperoni, chicken and ham
  • Parmo Zeno - topped with cheese and onions

Nutritional information

In 2007, North Yorkshire Trading Standards conducted a survey of 25 fast food dishes. A large parmo with chips and salad they tested contained about 2,600 calories and 150g of fat.[6]

See also

References
  1. "BBC - Tees Parmo! - Teesside Parmesan recipe". Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. "Teesside's fast food sensation". BBC. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  3. Starkey, Adam (6 April 2019). "Chinese wins Britain's Favourite Takeaway and the nation is divided once again". Metro. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  4. "Parmos flying off store shelves". BBC News. 22 July 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  5. Hancox, Dan (9 October 2009). "The 'parmo' goes national". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
  6. Hudson, Jeff (June 2007). "A project to ascertain the energy, fat and salt levels, in a selection of takeaway ready meals obtained from outlets in North Yorkshire". North Yorkshire County Council Trading Standards Service. North Yorkshire County Council. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013.
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