Levi Roots was born Keith Valentine Graham on 24 June 1958 in Clarendon, Jamaica. He was raised by his grandmother, Miriam, who taught him to cook, while his parents worked in Brixton, South London, saving to bring their children to England one by one. He joined them in Brixton at around age 11.
Levi built a career as a reggae musician through the 1980s and 90s, performing alongside artists including James Brown and Maxi Priest, and once played “Happy Birthday Mr. President” for Nelson Mandela in Brixton in 1996. He sold his homemade jerk sauce from a stall at Notting Hill Carnival for years before finding wider success.
In 2007, he appeared on Dragons’ Den and secured investment from Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh for his Reggae Reggae Sauce, which went on to become a major supermarket brand. This led to his own BBC Two cookery series, Caribbean Food Made Easy, in which he travelled the UK and Jamaica sharing Caribbean recipes.
Since then he has expanded into cookbooks, restaurants, and further TV appearances, including Celebrity Mastermind, Death in Paradise, and Celebrity Big Brother (2024). He has eight children and lives in Brixton, South London.
