Meet the founder of Northampton’s first jacket potato business offering ‘home-cooked comfort food’
Meet the founder of Northampton’s first jacket potato catering business offering “home-cooked comfort food”.
Danial Vahidi is the founder of Don’t Forget Your Jacket, which is currently open from Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm until 10pm on the corner of Hood Street and Colwyn Road.
The business launched in October as Danny knew the autumn and winter months were the ideal time to introduce this to the town.
Danny left home when he was 16 years old and built a variety of experience in the world of hospitality before becoming a recruiter, which he continues to do alongside Don’t Forget Your Jacket.
The founder hopes the fluffy jacket potatoes with tasty toppings provide “pure comfort” to his customers, which are created from his home kitchen.
“I want to offer something different and community-driven in the town,” Danny told the Chronicle & Echo. “No one’s doing jacket potatoes in the town and everyone loves them.”
Danny is passionate about the health benefits of jackets, with ordinary and sweet potatoes available – as well as meat, vegetarian and vegan toppings to cater to everyone.
By February 2026, Danny hopes to have created a mobile set up for Don’t Forget Your Jacket but for now, customers can collect their orders or have their food delivered via Deliveroo or Uber Eats.
Feedback has been “great” so far, with customers praising the jacket potatoes as tasty and good value for money. One customer praised it as the “best jacket potato ever” and recommended Danny to her company to cater for an upcoming function.
“There’s nothing new about jacket potatoes but it’s the timing of it,” said Danny. “There’s no one else in town doing this. It’s fresh, home-cooked food and not store bought and slapped on.”
Danny’s long-term goal is to open at lunchtimes and he hopes to engage with every local business, to encourage them to use Don’t Forget Your Jacket as a lunchtime option and contender for catering for functions.
The founder looks forward to collaborating with other businesses moving forward, and is passionate about ensuring he minimises his food wastage as much as possible. Danny wants to make sure any leftover jacket potatoes are redistributed into the community, such as to charities or schools.