What is a parmo?

A parmo (short for "parmesan") is a deep-fried, breaded chicken escalope smothered in rich béchamel sauce and finished under the grill with melted cheese until the top is blistered and golden. It is the unofficial national dish of Middlesbrough, the unsung hero of post-pub eating across the North East of England, and — as of recently — a takeaway you can have delivered to your door in Pattaya.

A short history

The parmo was invented in the 1950s by Nicos Harris, an American chef who landed in Middlesbrough after the Second World War. Working from his restaurant The American Grill on Linthorpe Road, he riffed on the veal parmigiana he knew from the States — but swapped the tomato sauce for a creamy béchamel and used chicken, which was easier to source. The dish stuck, spread to every chippy and takeaway on Teesside, and quietly became a regional institution.

Today there's even a Parmo Appreciation Society, an annual Parmo Day in January, and competitive fierce debate over which Boro takeaway makes the best one.

Anatomy of a parmo

• The base: a chicken breast butterflied and beaten thin, breaded, deep-fried until crisp.
• The sauce: proper béchamel — butter, flour, milk, white pepper. Never tomato.
• The cheese: a generous blanket of cheddar (or a cheddar/mozzarella blend), grilled until bubbling.
• The sides: chips and a small salad, traditionally with garlic mayo or chilli sauce on the side.

Parmo vs parmigiana

They share a great-great-grandparent but they are not the same dish. A parmigiana is baked, uses tomato sauce, and is Italian-American. A parmo is deep-fried first, uses béchamel, and is unapologetically British. Anyone serving you tomato sauce on a "parmo" is selling you something else.

The Pattaya version

We brought the recipe straight from Teesside — same béchamel ratio, same breadcrumb method, same deep-fry-then-grill technique. The chicken is fresh, the cheese is real, and every parmo is built to order. Pick your size, pick your toppings (or go classic), and we'll have it at your door across Pattaya, Jomtien, and Naklua.