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He became the most successful contestant on Dragons’ Den and a millionaire to boot.
But Reggae Reggae sauce proprietor Levi Roots has admitted he lied on the BBC show when he said the secret recipe was handed down by his grandmother.
The former reggae star, 53, also confessed that another claim – that the sauce had been the taste of the Notting Hill Carnival for 15 years – was a marketing ploy.
Rivals: Levi Roots, left, is being sued by his former business partner Tony Bailey, right, for a cut of the Reggae Reggae profits
Misleading? Mr Roots confessed that the claims on his sauce's label are 'a marketing ploy'
His admissions came in the middle of a High Court case where his former partner has accused him of stealing the coveted recipe. Chef Tony Bailey, 52, claims it was his sauce the pair used when they ran a jerk chicken stall at the Notting Hill Carnival.
Mr Bailey and financial advisor Sylvester Williams are suing Mr Roots for more than £600,000 after they claim he cut them out of an agreement to launch the sauce together.
Mr Roots – real name Keith Valentine Graham – appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2007 and secured a £50,000 investment from entrepreneurs Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.
Questioned about the sauce being his grandmother’s recipe, Mr Roots admitted that was untrue. He said: ‘I was trying to create the flavour my grandmother used to cook for me. How she used to do what she called relish.’
However, the former reggae star says he created the sauce from a basic recipe, and was trying to 'recreate' the flavour of his grandmother's original jerk chicken seasoning.
He also claimed that while the sauce wasn't sold at the Notting Hill Carnival, he and Mr Bailey sold jerk chicken and people came to their stall just to see Levi Roots himself.
Mr Roots claimed his story about his sauce being 'the taste of Notting Hill Carnival' was in reference to his reputation at the Caribbean street celebration.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1e0TFUouw
But Reggae Reggae sauce proprietor Levi Roots has admitted he lied on the BBC show when he said the secret recipe was handed down by his grandmother.
The former reggae star, 53, also confessed that another claim – that the sauce had been the taste of the Notting Hill Carnival for 15 years – was a marketing ploy.
Rivals: Levi Roots, left, is being sued by his former business partner Tony Bailey, right, for a cut of the Reggae Reggae profits
Misleading? Mr Roots confessed that the claims on his sauce's label are 'a marketing ploy'
His admissions came in the middle of a High Court case where his former partner has accused him of stealing the coveted recipe. Chef Tony Bailey, 52, claims it was his sauce the pair used when they ran a jerk chicken stall at the Notting Hill Carnival.
Mr Bailey and financial advisor Sylvester Williams are suing Mr Roots for more than £600,000 after they claim he cut them out of an agreement to launch the sauce together.
Mr Roots – real name Keith Valentine Graham – appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2007 and secured a £50,000 investment from entrepreneurs Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh.
Questioned about the sauce being his grandmother’s recipe, Mr Roots admitted that was untrue. He said: ‘I was trying to create the flavour my grandmother used to cook for me. How she used to do what she called relish.’
However, the former reggae star says he created the sauce from a basic recipe, and was trying to 'recreate' the flavour of his grandmother's original jerk chicken seasoning.
He also claimed that while the sauce wasn't sold at the Notting Hill Carnival, he and Mr Bailey sold jerk chicken and people came to their stall just to see Levi Roots himself.
Mr Roots claimed his story about his sauce being 'the taste of Notting Hill Carnival' was in reference to his reputation at the Caribbean street celebration.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1e0TFUouw
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