It’s reggae, steady, go for Levi

“PUT some music in your food,” sang Levi Roots as he strummed his guitar in front of the Dragon Den’s gang of four many hot dinners ago.

In what was one of the show’s most unusual pitches, Levi – the dreadlocked reggae singer from south London – was looking for a £50,000 cash investment into his Reggae, Reggae Sauce, a product he’d been making at home and flogging locally.

The Dragons couldn’t get enough of it – with two of them striking a deal with the entrepreneurial guitar man. The nation fell under a similar spell: Levi’s barbecue and jerk-mix sauce was exclusively supplied to Sainsbury’s and became its fastest-selling product.

Levi Roots with his famous Reggae Reggae Sauce

Today, with cook books, TV shows and more product lines launched, Levi Roots is reckoned to be worth £30 million.

And he’s not stopping there. Having conquered the culinary world and the music one (he has performed with James Brown and has a MOBO nomination for best reggae act), he is now poised to take on the tourism industry. He is just back from the Caribbean where he has been finalising the first Levi Roots Excursion in conjunction with Sandals hotels.

“It will be my Jamaica and I will be cooking for the guests,” says the 56-year-old who lived on the Caribbean island with his grandmother until moving to England when he was 12.

Yorkshire will be getting its own bite of Britain’s best-known reggae cook when Levi rocks up at the Malton Food Lovers Festival over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Levi will be hosting a range of demonstrations for the public on Saturday, May 23 and taking part in a Kitchen Question Time, answering culinary queries from the crowd.

“I love cooking in front of people,” says Levi, who will be sharing his recipes for home-style chicken jerk wings and Puerto Rican Chicken and Rice. “I love talking to people and a bit of banter.”

His trademark guitar will be accompanying him during the demos. Levi likes to strum and hum in the kitchen. “It’s like the first line of my song; ‘Put some music in your food’. It’s what I always do. The vibe you have in the kitchen determines how your food turns out.

“In my house, I have the radio or music on, or sing. I remember my grandmother always la-la-la-ing around the place.”

Levi was raised by his gran, Miriam Small, until his parents – who had moved to England – sent for him. “She was my mum and dad and it was the saddest time when I left.”

His formative food memories in Jamaica revolve not around the kitchen, but the great outdoors.

“My most vivid memories are the fruits. We had an idyllic lifestyle on a country farm and most of the things we had we picked from trees or fished from the lake or river. I remember lots of mangoes, apples, pears – and fruit still features a lot in my cooking.”

He admits life in England was hard.

“I came to this country aged 12 and never had an education. My passions [music and food] were the only things that mattered to me. I was last at maths, but in cooking I was always first in line and in music I was always first in line.”

Growing up, he felt confident these talents would lead to success.

“I always felt I would be something special. I would get into trouble in Brixton. You couldn’t get a job because of the place you lived and what you looked like. But I always felt there must be something else as I was always good at things.”

Perhaps it was that self-belief that Dragon Peter Jones saw all those years ago when Levi stepped into reality TV’s toughest arena. What went through his mind as he walked up the stairs, clutching his guitar, into the den? “Should I be on The X Factor,” he says, laughing.

In a food festival first, there will be a party on the Saturday night, with Levi and his 12-piece band performing songs from his latest album, Rise Again.

“I’m really looking forward to bringing some proper reggae, with my big band and its big sound. The new album is out in July and it will be a first experience of playing these songs live - it’s the first stage on the tour.”

Food and music are linked together, whether in the kitchen or on stage. He says: “I never try to separate the two. It fits for me; the Caribbean presence is always there. We even do some food performance on stage. That’s another first.”

• The Malton Food Lovers Festival will take place from Saturday May 23 to Sunday May 24. Access to the festival is free, however chef demonstrations, cookery lessons in the Malton Cookery School and tutored tastings are ticketed so visit maltonyorkshire.co.uk/food-lovers-festival/ to book your place. Tickets can be bought without a booking fee for all events (apart from the cookery school) from Malton Relish.

Festival highlights

MORE than 160 of Yorkshire’s best producers, retailers and restaurateurs will take part in this year’s Malton Food Lovers Festival.

Some famous foodies will be there too, promising the tastiest line-up yet. On the menu over two days are BBC wild chef Valentine Warner, Great British Menu judge and food campaigner Prue Leith and Sunday Telegraph food writer Diana Henry, as well as Yorkshire’s very own Peter Sidwell, presenter of ITV’s Britain’s Best Bakery, who will be running a series of baking masterclasses.

Peter Sidwell

York’s Zen Cook and The Press columnist Florencia Clifford will be hosting a tutored tasting on Zen cooking on Sunday, from 1.30pm to 2pm, tickets: £5.

Florencia Clifford

Other local talent taking part over the weekend include Yorkshire food stars Andrew Pern, James Mackenzie, Tim Bilton and Simon Crannage.

Prue Leith and Diana Henry will host exclusive afternoon teas in the Town Hall, giving foodie fans the chance to hear tales of their fascinating lives in food.

The Malton Food Lovers Festival restaurant also returns this year, run by the Pickled Porker, an artisan cider house and Yorkshire tapas pop-up.

On Saturday afternoon Prue Leith will chair the festival’s first ever Kitchen Question Time, with panellists Levi Roots, Valentine Warner, Diana Henry, Hattie Ellis and Steph Moon.

The first Festival Party will kick off at 6pm on Saturday night, headlined by Levi Roots as well as a host of local musical talent. After-hours merrymakers can feast on street food and sup beer from local breweries Brass Castle and Bad Seed, who are manning the Beer Festival tent from Friday night.