Mary Berry knows the secret to a good parmo...kind of.
The legendary cook is set to come to Teesside for the first time on Saturday to open the area’s flagship Barker & Stonehouse store.
Ahead of her visit she’s chatted exclusively to The Gazette - and although she had never even heard of a parmo, she can help you perfect the local delicacy.
“You don’t how daft I am,” says Mary Berry after a couple of failed Gazette attempts of contacting her.
“There was a little half moon on my iPhone and I wondered if that was to do with the eclipse!
“So of course there were no phone calls coming through,” says friendly Mary, whose phone was actually on silent.
“But somebody looked at it and touched it and it was okay!”
Mary explained that although she’s never been to Teesside, she thinks the North-east is a very special part of the country.
“I’ve been to Eggleston Hall,” says Mary, talking about a country house near Barnard Castle, County Durham.
“And I love the area - I think it’s so beautiful.
“It’s an experience to come.”
Despite visiting other areas thanks to her career - including a starring role on The Great British Bake Off - Mary admits she’s actually a bit of a homebird.
In fact Mary, who has written more than 80 cookbooks, loves her home in Penn in Buckinghamshire so much that as soon as she’s done her bit at Teesside Park over the weekend she’ll be back in time for bed.
The 80-year-old - who was awarded a CBE for her services to the culinary arts in 2012 - said: “It’s a village I’ve lived in for more than 40 years.
“I’m not staying over in Teesside as I’m setting off at the crack of dawn.
“I’m flying up and I’ll be home for bed!”
She will do her best to try our local dish - the parmo - whilst she’s here though (despite never actually having heard of one).
“But the crumbs wouldn’t be crisp!” says a concerned Mary, talking about the dish’s toppings.
“I’ll ask the owner if they’ll have one in the cafe.”
She does know a thing or two about one of the parmo’s key components though.
“It’s a classic recipe,” says Mary of bechamel sauce.
“My tip is to always have hot milk to make it as it makes it smoother and quicker.”
Can we glean any other cookery gems from Mrs Berry?
“I think I’m going to be doing a bit of book signing up there - and the book has a lovely family recipe of sausages and veg.
“I actually prefer cooking savoury things.
“My favourite sweet though is lemon drizzle cake.”
Her latest mission is to try and make cookery easier by taking shortcuts.
“We are trying to make recipes easier by using modern ingredients,” explains Mary.
Mary uses the example of shop-bought bread crumbs.
“But I always make my own,” she adds.
“There are lots of things that can help you now.
“I don’t see why not!
“I don’t make my own puff pastry.”
Barker & Stonehouse has also found a fan in Mary.
“I love the idea that it’s family owned - also the living wall and the rooftop which is filled with plants,” says Mary of the £4.5m state-of-the-art shop.
“It must be lovely for that part of the world.”
Customers will have the opportunity to attend Q&A sessions with Mary, win signed copies of her latest book and browse the new state-of-the art store throughout the day.
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