We want to make jacket potatoes sexy again!': how the humble spud became a fast food sensation

"They were once a lunch option that inspired little excitement but the jacket potato's time has finally come. After decades in epicurean exile, the humble spud has made a roaring comeback in the UK and piqued the interest of foodies across the world. A-listers, tourists and trend-hopping teenagers are queueing for hours to get their hands on them. For Jacob Nelson, who sells loaded spuds that have gone super-viral on social media, this was all part of the plan."

"The 30-year-old, who runs SpudBros with his brother Harley and dad Tony, was among the first crop of social-media savvy spud vendors to give the jacket potato a much-needed makeover. After a slow start in lockdown, the brothers spoke to some youngsters in Preston Flag Market, where they had set up shop, to find out why they were shunning spuds. It was an absolute ghost town, says Harley."

The jacket potato has shifted from an unstimulating lunch choice to a viral culinary phenomenon in the UK and beyond. Social-media-savvy vendors such as SpudBros reinvented loaded spuds with eye-catching toppings and filmed customer interactions to attract younger audiences. Their TikTok success produced millions of followers, celebrity collaborations, sponsorships, and long queues of A-listers, tourists and teenagers. The resurgence taps into a long street-food tradition, with parallels to Japan’s centuries-old yaki imo and nearly 200 years of jacket-potato presence in the UK. Creative presentation and social platforms have driven renewed demand and cultural relevance.

Read at www.theguardian.com