What is a parmo?

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of a parmo - or had mistaken it for a type of shoe perhaps, or a schoolboy nickname - it is to Middlesbrough what a pasty is to Cornwall. A local delicacy which the people are fiercely protective over.

Admittedly the parmo hasn't gone quite as mainstream as the pasty, but I had been told in no uncertain terms that my trip to the North-East would not be complete without sampling this local offering. If you've managed to resist hitting Wikipedia thus far to identify a parmo, it's basically a giant chicken nugget topped off with cheese and bechamel sauce.

So off we trotted to The Buck in Great Ayton. I opted for the small (having been warned that large was immense) chicken parmo. Other meats were available, as were extra toppings such as pepperoni, but I decided to keep my inaugural parmo experience simple. It was just as expected - proper stodge that would make a good morning-after-the-night-before brunch. I couldn't help thinking that it could've done with something to add a little pizazz - some tomato perhaps, or barbecue sauce.

Would I have a parmo again? Yes, once my arteries have recovered from the cholesterol of this one- and I'll definitely be having the extra toppings next time.

Apologies for the poor image quality- in my excitement to try the infamous parmo, I forgot to take my camera with me, so had to take photos on my phone.

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