Teesside
The parmo is the best-known modern speciality: breaded meat, béchamel and cheese, usually served with chips and salad. Steel, port and industrial communities also shaped a preference for hearty, filling food.
Where our food comes from
A region with recipes of its own
Teesside, the North East coast and the communities around the Tyne, Wear and Tees share plenty, but food changes surprisingly quickly from town to town.
More than one North East kitchen
Northern Family Kitchen reaches from Middlesbrough and Redcar up to South Shields. That means Teesside parmos sit alongside panackelty, stotties, pease pudding, singing hinnies and other foods that may be everyday favourites locally but unfamiliar elsewhere in Britain.
Even when two families use the same name, the dish may not be identical. Panackelty is a perfect example: one version may use leftover roast meat, another corned beef; one is layered neatly in the oven while another is simmered in a pan. Neither needs to be treated as the single “correct” version.
Tyneside and South Tyneside
Stottie cakes, pease pudding and saveloy dips are strongly associated with this part of the region. Home baking and economical one-pot meals remain part of the story too.
Wearside and County Durham
Panackelty is especially linked with Sunderland and nearby areas, but recipes differ widely. Pan haggerty and related potato dishes show how local names and ingredients overlap.
The coast
Fish and chips are a family favourite from Redcar to South Shields, while kippers and other smoked fish form part of the wider North East coastal tradition.
Sunday dinner
Roasts, gravy, Yorkshire puddings and vegetables may not be unique to the region, but every household develops its own rules about what belongs on the plate.
New Northern food
Family cooking does not stand still. Curries, chillies, loaded fries and dishes from around the world now sit naturally beside older regional favourites.