The hottest potato in town: foodies are travelling from around the world to sample a humble spud in Tamworth…
Baked for an hour, until crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, these infamous potatoes are lavished with butter, seasoned, generous toppings added, then they’re boxed and wrapped in foil to let everything melt…
The simple spud is having a resurgence thanks to one man (with pink hair) in the West Midlands.
Nestled outside the picturesque St Editha’s Parish Church in Tamworth is a food truck that opens at 10am (it’s closed Wednesdays and Sundays). Its cuisine is simple – jacket potatoes with a choice of toppings (cheese, baked beans, tuna mayonnaise and homemade chilli to name a few).
People come from far and wide, queueing for hours on end to get a potato and, hopefully, catch a glimpse of the Spudman himself.
Spudman, 39 years old and a dad of nine, is also known as Benjamin John Newman, who has become a viral sensation and is easy to spot with his beard and trademark pink mohawk.
He’s been selling spuds since 2001. And perhaps it was in his blood…
After Ben left college he was in the pub with his dad – a potato merchant – who mentioned that Phil, the man who’d owned a food truck in Tamworth since the 1970s, was retiring.
Ben took over and his jacket spuds empire has been a success ever since, aided in recent years by his millions of TikTok followers. People queue for hours. One spudobsessed fan is even rumoured to have offered someone £75 to stand in line for him…
Spudman sells over 800 taters a day, typically costing between £3 and £7. They’re sourced locally from Lowes Farm. The butter is local too – from
