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You've got some (Reggae Reggae) sauce, Levi: Dragons' Den entrepreneur said recipe was family secret, but was it? By Ian Gallagher and Tom Harper Last updated at 8:31 AM on 27th December 2009 Comments (20) Add to My Stories It is a secret recipe that has brought fame and fortune to Levi Roots. Since pitching his spicy Reggae Reggae Sauce to the entrepreneurs on BBC2’s Dragons’ Den, the Jamaican musician’s backyard business has grown into a multi-million-pound concern and made him into a celebrity chef. But, it seems, the origins of the 51-year-old rastafarian’s success are shrouded in even more mystery than his foodie fans might have imagined.
Levi has always maintained that the recipe for the jerk barbecue sauce was a family secret, passed down by his grandmother. Hot property: Levi Roots has made a fortune from his spicy Reggae Reggae Sauce But now one of his friends has claimed that he invented it, while another says that the story about Roots’s grandmother may be a marketing ploy.
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‘I created it,’ claimed Tony Bailey, who runs a tiny West Indian takeaway in Brixton, South London.
‘The recipe is mine. People round here know, but we don’t say.’
Source of the sauce? Take-away chef Tony Bailey says he created the recipe for the famous condiment His claim is supported by Timmii Twumasi, Levi’s on-off girlfriend who has known him more than 20 years. She says the real story behind the sauce begins not in Jamaica, where Levi says his grandmother taught him to cook 40 years ago, but at the Notting Hill Carnival, where
Levi and Tony have run a successful stall selling jerk chicken and Reggae Reggae Sauce since the early Nineties.
Nothing disrupted their partnership until Levi, the more ambitious of the pair, was persuaded to go on Dragons’ Den by a BBC researcher.
He secured £50,000 backing and just 24 hours after the show was broadcast Sainsbury’s offered to stock the sauce. It began outselling Heinz tomato ketchup and Levi has never looked back.
But while he was enjoying the first fruits of success, he made a surprise admission, Timmii claims.
‘Levi told me it wasn’t his recipe,’ she said. ‘A few days before the 2007 carnival, Levi said Tony wasn’t doing it that year. I was shocked as they have always been such a double act, and asked him why.
‘He said, “You have to understand that this sauce thing isn’t as great as some people think. It’s just bringing up so much jealousy and hatred.” I asked more, and that’s when he said, “It’s Tony’s recipe.”
‘He said he had asked Tony go on Dragons’ Den with him but he didn’t want to do it. He thought it was a waste of time. I said, “But you said it’s your grandmother’s sauce”, and he replied, “Timmii, in this business, it’s what the people want that matters. I was going to sell it as a 100-year-old recipe but that’s too far-fetched. You have to be believable and impressive.”’
Confession: Levi's on-off girlfriend Timmii Twumasi claims he told her that it wasn't his recipe Levi gave Tony a share of the profits from the carnival that year, and, according to Timmii, his generosity didn’t end there.
‘I have been with Levi on several occasions when he’s taken money to Tony’s restaurant. I never asked how much. Once he asked me to drop some cash off to Tony.’
Last week, asked if Levi looked after him financially, Tony replied simply, ‘Yeah, yeah’, adding: ‘Levi’s just doing his thing.’
Levi was on holiday in Jamaica last week and refused to discuss the claims, saying: ‘I’ve been through all this. I don’t want to say anything.’
His grandmother, Miriam Small, died when Levi was 17 but The Mail on Sunday located her closest living relative in Jamaica, Cynthia Williams, Levi’s half-sister.
Asked if his grandmother taught him how to make jerk sauce, Cynthia said: ‘Miriam could cook real good and he did whatever Miriam did. He had a passion for cooking.’
However, she said she had never heard of Miriam having a secret recipe and that the first she heard of Reggae Reggae Sauce was when she was staying with Levi in Britain.
‘I don’t know if the recipe came from Miriam,’ she said.
‘Levi worked hard. He walked the streets of London just to make ends meet. He made the sauce at his house in Britain where I tested it. It was very, very good.’
Levi’s website states: ‘Miriam Small ... passed on her secret recipe of herbs and spices from one generation to another.’
However, in his cookbook, Levi concedes that while his sauce is made from his grandmother’s original recipe, he has ‘amended it over the years’.
is that him and also i thought he said he was in china or somethin like that??
well they both have jamican bars and sell the sauce. lol
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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but thats not him and yes he lives in Japan
tina kamal Member # 13845
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o ok thanks. just wondering
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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Hay!! how could I have missed this... But Naww Tina Chef Micky is right
Many FN readers will recognize Allen from his Reggae Bar "Xaymaca," formerly in Fujisaki and now on Oyafuko, and his oishii Jamaican food. After persistent inquiries about his jerk seasoning, Allen decided to bottle his most popular sauces so customers could enjoy them at home. Currently, he offers four varieties (Y840 each): the quintessential "Jerk Rub"- excellent on all meats, not just chicken- Allen's original "BBQ Sauce", the mayonnaise based "Special Dip" and finally his fiery hot "Jamaica Allen's Hot Sauce." All are available at Xaymaca or online at www.jamaicaallens.com. Buy four bottles and shipping is free! www.fukuoka-now.com/articles/show/3396
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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Just getting setup about 11:30 am on a Sunday after staying up all night Sat and thru Monday..slept like a log for 24hrs.. Out doors event in May..ONE LOVE ISLAND JAM some years back that we produced..have tons of pics but haven't down load them yet. these I pulled off the net.
Folks are pushing me to restart but man it's alot of work..and if there is a hard rain all 8 month prep is down the drain.
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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i knew it wasnt you Brada-Anansi , your cuter
*Dalia* Member # 13012
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What made you decide to move to Japan and open a bar there, B-A?
quote:Originally posted by Chef Mick: your cuter
Great smile.
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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Just chance kinda,anyways..I used to be Navy over here,got out went back to NY..was planning to do South America got side tract plans changed,ended back over here a friend also from NY a Dominican guy was just opening up a place called Off Broadway..he needed some help,I thought he wanted Bar staff,but No he wanted someone who could find his way around the Kitchen..so I made up his Menu it became a hit we rock the house for a number of years ..then finally I wanted to strike-out on my own..being a Mgr was not enough so here I am... now I thinking what's my next step.. That's ma Boy right there @ his spot..
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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do you ship your products if ordered to the usa?
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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No not yet working on it..all kind o red tape If I want to do it right,but soon though real soon.
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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so like you stated " whats my next step?" that should be it right? or if your coming to the usa ..bring it with ya
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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Yeah I am thinking real hard on that...produce it in the US..and such just wondering if the timing is right.
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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sure why not. life is to short and i want to try your products before i die
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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Will make sure you try some before that happens wouldn't a haunting from the great beyond now would I??
tina kamal Member # 13845
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well alot of people think they will do it later. y not now u only live once. and u should now cas when yr old u cant enjoy the benifits of the money u make as much as u could now while yr young. and when u get to the states send me some too.. when ya commin?maybe me and micky and u can eat mickys cooking togeather. sounds good to me.and sorry for mistkin ya. just it sounded like ya cas u have yr own sauce and yr jamacian so how could i have not gotten ya cnfused right?
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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quote:Originally posted by Brada-Anansi: Will make sure you try some before that happens wouldn't a haunting from the great beyond now would I??
hope not and Tina i want to taste his cooking first
Brada-Anansi Member # 16371
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Hay if I come to the States even for a visit why not link up and have a cook-out? maybe over @ Chef Mick's place ya never know..
tina kamal Member # 13845
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quote:Originally posted by Chef Mick:
quote:Originally posted by Brada-Anansi: Will make sure you try some before that happens wouldn't a haunting from the great beyond now would I??
hope not and Tina i want to taste his cooking first
who said he would be cookin? i was hopin u would be cookin....
quote:Originally posted by Brada-Anansi: Hay if I come to the States even for a visit why not link up and have a cook-out? maybe over @ Chef Mick's place ya never know..
that could be fun.i can get a plane ticket to mickys but not to egypt how ironic...
Chef Mick Member # 11209
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quote:Originally posted by Brada-Anansi: Hay if I come to the States even for a visit why not link up and have a cook-out? maybe over @ Chef Mick's place ya never know..
sounds like a deal to me ...awesome ;)come to Phillie , we will have a Jamaican cookout
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