Sir, – The home cooking of Mandy Lelaman transformed Ruby’s Snacks on the Roman Road in Linthorpe from a coffee- shop into a gourmet café (D&S letters, Mar 12).

Not to be outdone, young Ruby’s Snacks employee Lucy Atkinson has now introduced her own home-made parmesans at the café. They’re mouthwatering; she says the secret is in her own recipe for the béchamel sauce.

But upping the stakes further in the Linthorpe lunch market is the Brazilian family-run Café Bahia in the Forbes building on the corner of Linthorpe Road and Parliament Road.

The beefburgers are especially noteworthy; they’re homemade and just ooze juicy goodness.

I would go as far as to say that the cooking is as good as that in the famous Parker’s Grill that was located nearby and was a Middlesbrough landmark from the 1950s through to the 1970s.

I am also delighted to say that June Parker of Parker’s Grill is alive and well. A sprightly octogenarian, she lives in the High Street in Yarm and is known and loved by all who meet her and her delightful Yorkshire terrier Petal.

Egon Ronay may have just died aged 94, but the Linthorpe café scene still passes muster.

MARK LEE Linthorpe, Middlesbrough.