Local Entrepreneurs

Nicos Harris inventor of the 'Parmo' 

The Parmo or Parmesan is a slab of pork or chicken bashed flat, rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried.

The godfather of the Teesside Parmo was Nicos Harris, a chef with the American army in the Second World War. He was wounded in France but was treated in a British hospital.

Eventually, he moved to Middlesbrough and opened a restaurant on Linthorpe Road where he created the Parmo at The American Grill in 1958; His son-in-law Caramello still lives in Middlesbrough and continues the family's proud Parmo tradition.

Entrepreneurs

Jasper Newton Daniel 1849-1911

Better known as 'Jack Daniel' of 'Jack Daniels Whiskey'
Jack Daniels is one of the most famous distillers on the planet for the 20th and 21st century, He was one of 12 children, there were many hardships endured by the family, including the loss of Jasper’s mother when he was seven years old. With a poor family but a well-grounded basic education, Jasper was hired out to the local Lutheran Minister, who also ran a dry goods store in Lynchburg, TN. 

The young man received a sound education in the store keeper’s trade from Rev. Dan Call and soon proved himself to be a quick learner; One of Rev. Call’s best known products, however, stemmed from a whiskey still he operated on the Louse River near his store. 

However it was not Rev. Call who taught Jack how to distill as most americans would tell you but in truth a mysterious man named 'Nearis Green' one of Rev. Call's slaves, he was a master distiller but was whitewashed from history, Jack worked hand in hand for years with nearis and became very close. One history of Jack Daniel's written in 1967 suggests that Call had instructed the slave to show Daniel how to distill