Why do people get so excited over a jacket potato cart?

[Soubriquet]

I see a lot of viral videos on fb and one of them is from the spud man. Now I like a jacket potato sometimes, but that still doesn’t mean I would camp out over night, or start queuing from 5.30 for a damn potato!! Even if the first order is free.

Why????

Because people are sheep. Prime, Bingley mega chippy, kadayif (dubai chocolate). I like a jacket potato but I'm not queuing for hours for anything.

FOMO for social media, nothing to do with the actual potatoes I'd say.

People like to film themselves queuing, choosing and taking a bite out of each item - what we don’t see is them in some cases not even swallowing and in many cases chucking the rest in the bin! So wasteful!

The algorithm chooses who gets famous, TikTok pushes certain creators and they go viral.

Absolutely this. My DD has never liked jacket potatoes, she’s always called them “war food”. Last month she told me that she was really, really craving a jacket potato. I was surprised but as she kept banging on I made her one, which she covered with various toppings. She just picked at it a bit and said “Eurgh, it just reminds me why I don’t like jacket potatoes”.

It’s scary that TikTok is so bloody brain-washingly powerful that it can make idiots people strongly crave a food that they actively dislike.

Oh Dubai chocolate is everywhere right now isn’t it?!!

I think he would probably film my order with disgust….one potato, do not mash the inside please!!! No butter, no salt, no pepper. In fact no toppings at all, apart from cheese but I want the cheese separate cos I like to have a nice forkful of cold cheese and one fork of potato

This reminds me of when I ordered a burger with a side baked potato (rather than chips) and a friend of mine was outraged! I've not eaten with her since 😆

My child likes to watch a show on YT about a cartoon gecko. Some episodes the gecko goes off to learn about real machines (fire engines, ambulances, etc). There are a couple of episodes where we get to meet Mr T, the dessert king (or whatever he calls himself). It's an ice cream van.
A while ago I noticed a facebook post saying Mr T the dessert king was coming to our town (a long way from where he resides) and it was a big deal.

Between the photos I've seen of his "tour" and the episodes with the Gecko I have established Mr T basically shoves a load of soft scoop in a tub, covers in it gross blue mass produced sauce, sticks some crumbled chocolate bars or bags of sweets from Costco on it and that's it. That's what people go crazy for.

It's absolute shite that you could literally do at home for probably a fraction of the price and even the adults around our area were all excited about it.

I never have a jacket potato out, because I LOVE potatoes and you are likely to get a shit one. It might have eyes, grey bits, hard bits (inside) no or not enough butter, or margarine, that weird pre-grated cheddar...

Too much of a risk, no thanks.

There's a gourmet mashed potato restaurant in Edinburgh that I keep meaning to go to whenever I'm there.

Really must make the effort this summer. I love a good spud. 😋🍴

That sounds amazing.

It's a shared communal experience isn't it? These days everybody watches their own media on a tiny screen, and listens to their own streamed music in their own bubble alone. Even queueing for festival or music tickets is on your own at home clicking refresh on your screen, not outside HMV. People crave that 'being there' moment they used to get in other ways.... it's sad, but it's not the people doing that are sad, it's society. If people want to get their mates together and queue for a potato then let them...

I had a jacket potato from Spud mans stall, the queue was small, I waited for about 5 mins. I didn't travel miles and it was something I thought was a bit of fun on a Saturday afternoon with kids. The man himself is very nice, always ready to pose for pics (no, I wasn't one of those that asked). Chatty with everyone and the potatoes were lovely. Can't remember the cost tbh.
I wouldn't go again unless I was in the area and there was no queue, (because it's just a jacket potato after all 😄)
I don't get the whole social media hype but it clearly works because I went, and obviously loads of other's do too. Good for him (& others) he's made some money out of it and he helps highlight other business's as well.

Haven't ever tried Dubai Chocolate and not really sure what it is that makes it so special, so maybe I'm not as influenced as I thought 😂

https://makarsmash.com

Book yer train ticket noo. Or mebbes wait 'till I recce it first.

They certainly are. Talking of idiots, who wants ice-cream on their chips? www.glasgowlive.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/seaside-takeaway-40-mins-glasgows-31772605

Not if they’re at an event and all the food is the same price.

Jacket potatoes out are likely to have been microwaved so I never have them either.

I saw haggis ice cream on in the menu at a St Andrews restaurant a few years ago. I will say, they served the best steak I think I've ever had so if their er, haggis ice cream is anything like their steak ...

I’d rather have mash than a jacket , although I do love both. Sounds awesome.

This.

Spud u like was all the rage in the 80s and no matter how you try to recreate it at home nothing is a patch on it.

Pronounced Spud You Likkay in our neck of the woods.

A teenage hangout for me.

It's all youngsters who were deprived of spud-u-like growing up. Those of us who are old enough to remember that baked potato chain are bound to be a bit non-plussed!

Cross post!

I think 12 for one isn’t that bad these days, although for a family of four with maybe other things to eat as a side or a drink is a different story I suppose, but everything is expensive these days. At least it’s healthier than fried food or some burgers and you can choose your toppings but only if it’s not that weird catering cheese they have on things like this sometimes!

I remember Spud u like!
You sometimes get a jacket potatoes place in shopping malls too, but they can be hit or miss at times and not sure if the lakeside one is still around or not.