IT was once a staple for late night revellers as a pit stop for food while making their way home from a night out.

Now celebrity chef James Martin has joined forces with a Scots potato producer to relaunch and expand the popular Spud U Like fast food outlets.

Albert Bartlett, the UK’s leading supplier of potatoes based in Airdrie, Lanarkshire, has joined forces with the chef to relaunch the once-popular baked potato restaurant chain which first opened in Edinburgh in 1974.

The move comes amid the soaring cost of imported rice, pasta, flour and cooking oil, and fuels hopes that the humble – and more affordable – home- grown tuber may once again take centre stage in our diets, vegan and vegetarian included.

Plans for expansion in Scotland may involve moving out of current Spud U Like locations at Braehead Shopping Centre in Glasgow and at the Livingston Designer Outlet.

In the long term, it aims to expand to street food venues, food markets and festivals and university campuses where there is more footfall than currently in shopping malls.

Stand-alone outlets in popular foodie neighbourhood areas such as Glasgow’s west end are also being considered.

Spud U Like specialises in baked potatoes with various fillings along with other potato based meals.

It was founded by Kim Culley and Barbara Cain in Edinburgh in 1974, and its popularity peaked in the 1980s and ’90s.

The company was acquired by the British School of Motoring (BSM) in 1979 which helped the firm to rapidly expand its business as a franchise operation.

By 2001, its branches numbered 50, in part thanks to an acquisition of a rival, Fat Jackets. It later demerged from BSM and entered into one company voluntary arrangement in July 2019, in an attempt to restructure its debt then filed for administration, with all 37 outlets closed with 300 job losses Ronnie Bartlett, chairman of the potato company and grandson of the eponymous founder, purchased ten Spud U Like outlets across the UK in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic hit.

He recently invited chef James Martin, host of ITV’s Saturday Morning cooking show and author of the newly-published cookbook Potato, to further develop its new range of menus under the Spud U Like by James Martin brand.

In addition, the Spud U Like by James Martin brand is likely to include a new range of pre-prepared gourmet potato dishes for retail and food service. For this, Bartletts has built a new chill plant in Airdrie.

Gourmet mash, Pommes Parmentier, croquettes, roast potatoes and potato skins are among the dishes being trialled in restaurant and hotel kitchens supplied by Bartlett partners Brakes, Bidfoods and Wellocks, and in chef James’ six restaurants including Manchester, Hampshire, Stanstead Airport and in Scotland at Glasgow Airport.

“We want to do something different with the brand, and it’s a very fast-moving platform at the moment,” says the chef in an interview for The Herald’s Business HQ magazine, published tomorrow.

“We’re currently in talks with the aim of using Ronnie’s unrivalled knowledge and expertise and blending it with my bit, which is to follow foodie trends, to develop something that works for both Joe Public and the hospitality industry.”

He cites Michelin-star restaurant chefs Clare Smyth and Sat Bains’ renowned potato recipes as examples of the potential creative input to the baked potato.

Bartletts has over 50 potato farmers in Scotland, many of whom grow the top baking potato varieties Marabel, Elfe and Mariola, new European varieties that need less butter and salt because of their flavour and creamy texture.

The chef, 50, who grew up on a farm in Yorkshire, added: “The new and emerging generations of consumers are smarter and more astute than even five years ago, and with field-to-fork movement trending there’s huge potential for the humble home-grown potato which is often overlooked.”

He cites the fact that pre-sales of his new cookbook, simply titled Potato, were double that of his previous one.

Ronnie Bartlett is enthusiastic about the potential for Spud U Like with his new business partner. “Potatoes are a great product and we want to introduce people to new ways of using and consuming them,” he told The Herald’s Business HQ magazine.

“We’re delighted to have a business relationship with James Martin, as people trust him and know he’s passionate about what he does.

“We share the same values of promoting a healthy, locally-grown product with great taste and high-end topping at a reasonable price.”