Dragons' Den winner Levi Roots on respect for food, Guinness and remedies for a good life

The Dragons' Den TV team bought your Reggae Reggae sauce; now you have a book out. Always been a dab hand in the kitchen?

I've always eaten home- cooked Caribbean meals. I never planned to be a chef; I just liked to cook the things that my mother and my grandmother taught me when I was a boy.

Scared of the Dragons?

No, I was super-cool because I am Levi Roots. Then I turned into Keith, and he was the sweating guy you saw. Levi is the confident guy singing with his guitar, slaying those dragons.

Keith?

I have two real names: Levi Roots and Keith Graham. I have a Scottish name given to me by my parents, which is Keith, but I gave myself the name Levi Roots.

Who cooked up the sauce?

It's a family method of cooking, and we decided to share it with the world. I created this thing, this sauce, which is now a monster.

Changed the family fortunes?

We couldn't afford to do anything before, it was just me walking around Brixton, in South London, with a brown bag on my shoulder shouting “Reggae Reggae sauce”, and people would be saying “ah no, it's that man with that silly sauce again. What's he selling that for? Sell me a drink, for God's sake!”

Is health or taste at the root of Caribbean cooking?

A bit of both. Caribbean cooking teaches you to eat al fresco, so already you're thinking healthy because you don't need oils and fatty stuff on the barbecue. But Caribbean food can also be very sweet. You get a balance of both, and it's up to the individual as to which side you want to lean on. I lean on both.

Ever jog round the block to work off all the food?

I think seven kids - the oldest is 30, the youngest is 22 - and five grandchildren, is enough exercise. I know that other people's shapes and sizes differ, but it's all about how you respect food. If you give food a lot of respect, you will always remain at a respectable level with your weight

What about the odd tipple?

Sometimes I forget that I even drink, but then I could be sitting around with a bunch of Rasta men and I'll get a bottle of Guinness and wallow in that. Sometimes I'll have a little Jamaican white rum, too.

Smoke anything?

I'm a Rasta! You know what a Rasta man does.

Any family traditions?

We have a stall at the Notting Hill Carnival called Rasta Round, where we sell food and T-shirts. It's a fun little stall that I light up with my guitar, sing a few tunes, and hold a little party. We try to mingle food and music.

Does the spririt move you?

I'm a Rasta, which is a way of life for me. There are no gods, it's just how you live. Basically, you're part of this Universe, and whatever happens, you have to help it to progress. Your life is about helping the universe because that's how you progress. It's like a tree. If you don't water the roots the tree tops will never be green and grow. We are that root. That's where the Roots comes in with Levi Roots.

Your plan for the Universe?

I want to help others. I've got this project with 200 schools, and I do motivational speeches. I do three or four schools a week, all over the country, from Newcastle to Wales, to the Isle of Man. If Levi can come from Brixton, in the inner city, with 4ft-long dreadlocks, and slay the dragons in that Dragons' Den, anyone can.

Believe in alternative medicine?

I'm a GP type of man. I don't know anything about science or about homoeopathy, but I would have to trust whoever's telling me things.

Any Roots remedies?

We Jamaicans rely on drinking herbs and stuff like that. I'll never do tea with milk.

Favourite herb?

Cerasee, a herb from the West Indies, which I grow in the garden. It's like Guinness: kids can't take the bitterness, but as adults we know it's good for us and we drink it. It washes you out and purifies the blood.

What's next?

I want to create lots of new things before 2010. Then I'll take my mother and retire to Jamaica with my music and relax in the sunshine.

Any regrets?

No. I went to prison for five years. I was a bad boy back in the day. I'm not ashamed of it because the bad times shaped me to where and who I am now.

So what changed?

I was in the deepest of places, and a lady came into my life and saved me. She was a drama teacher, called Teresa. She taught me how to live life through drama and art. She told me that I was on a path to greatness. I don't know where she got that from, but she was right.

Reggae Reggae Cookbook (Collins, £14.99)

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