As American fast-food giants were introducing British palates to the delights of burger and fries, and fried chicken and spare ribs, one Scottish company was proving that a home-grown, healthier alternative could be served up just as quickly.
Launched in Edinburgh in 1974, Spud-U-Like offered a 10oz baked potato, filled with a choice of 32 fillings, including classics such as grated cheese, chili con carne, prawn cocktail and tuna mayo, along with speciality items such as cottage cheese with mushrooms, and haggis and turnip.
Such was the popularity of their first store that by the end of the decade, founders Barbara and David Leggate, and Kim Culley were operating four Spud-U-Like shops across the city and were looking for a big concern to help them expand across the UK. They found it in the shape of the British School of Motoring.
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Although it seemed an unlikely partnership on the surface, BSM had already had great success in franchising out its driving school operation; while managing director David Acheson, a past president of the British Franchise Association, had previously managed Wimpy and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Spud-U-Like quickly grew, with around 50 franchised outlets at its peak, including a branch at Shepherd’s Bush Green, west London, which was officially opened by actor Roy Kinnear.
Over the years, items were added to the menu, including deserts, salads, and a short-lived filled “French stick”. For an additional fee, customers could get an extra filling, which, according to one early Spud-U-Like advert, would “give a choice of almost 5,000 equally delicious meals or a different Spud-U-Like baked potato every day for 13 years.”
However, with much of the 32 fillings being based on cottage or grated cheese, it was no surprise that those options were slimmed down a little over the years, and by the beginning of the 21st century, Spud-U-Like was offering a more manageable nine fillings.
In 1990, Spud-U-Like was demerged from the British School of Motoring. The driving school was then sold off in a management buyout, while Spud-U-Like was retained by Sir Anthony Jacobs – who had acquired BSM in 1973 – remaining in his family until the company’s collapse into administration in August 2019.
In October 2019, two months after the collapse, Spud-U-Like was acquired by Albert Bartlett, the UK’s leading potato supplier, which promptly reopened eight of the brand’s 37 stores. Today the company is known as SpudULike by James Martin, having teamed up with the celebrity chef to create a menu fit for the 21st century.
Although the menu now includes fancier dishes including chickpea daal, butter chicken, and smoked salmon & cream cheese, there’s still room for old favourites such as prawn cocktail, chili con carne and cottage cheese. In addition to its carefully selected UK grown potatoes, SpudULike by James Martin sources many of its ingredients from artisan producers such as Gloucestershire’s Netherend Farm for its traditionally churned English butter; Somerset’s Barber’s Farmhouse for its cheddar cheese; and John Ross Jr of Aberdeen – fish merchants and curers to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – for its delicately-smoked, hand-prepared Scottish salmon.
Despite Spud-U-Like’s popularity, especially during the late 1980s when some branches were taking £6,000 a week, the brand was much-mocked by comedians, such as Harry Enfield whose character Wayne Slob had a daughter called Spudulika. However, by offering tasty dishes at affordable prices, during a period when people were counting the calories as much as they were watching the pennies, Spud-U-Like had the last laugh.
