Businessman, chef, author and musician Levi Roots has been made an Honorary Doctor of Letters at the University of Westminster.
On 24 July the Jamaican-British businessman was welcomed to Westminster to receive his Honorary Doctorate. At the ceremony he spoke to the latest graduates and highlighted the power of education, emphasising how anyone can thrive no matter the cards they are dealt.
Born in a small village called Clarendon in Jamaica, Roots was a keen sous chef to his grandmother who taught him the secrets of how to mix Caribbean flavours, herbs and spices to create delicious sauces. He took these secrets with him when he moved from Jamaica to Brixton and kept on making the now infamous Reggae Reggae Sauce with his children and selling it wherever he could.
He was spotted selling his sauce by a researcher and journalist who encouraged him to try his luck on the TV show Dragon’s Den. With the backing of his family he took the leap and tamed the dragons with his music, story and sauce, propelling his Reggae Reggae Sauce into the stratosphere.
Along with sharing the delicious taste with the world, Roots’ mission has always been to spread the word that “if a Black Brixtonian Rastafarian can make it with just a sauce, then you can make it too”.
By building an enterprise from nothing, Roots thrives off sharing his knowledge with fellow entrepreneurs to give them support, encouragement and vital advice. He is often a guest at the University of Westminster, giving lectures and taking part in events to inspire Westminster students to dream big and to help make those dreams a reality.
Roots said: “I’d like to say how truly grateful and humbled I am to be receiving this Honorary Doctorate from the University of Westminster. I have always loved this amazing University. Indeed, it has a very special place in my heart, an institution that I have always looked forward to visiting, to engage with the staff and its knowledgeable business students, whom I’ve gotten to know personally over time.
“Some of my proudest memories of being here are about the times spent debating, reasoning and speaking with the students and being able to recognise some by names and by faces. Of this familiarity, I am immensely proud.
“As a young child growing up in Jamaica, I never had the chance to attend an establishment quite such as this. And so my personal journey and my successes as an adult and businessman they are actual proof that entrepreneurship, in most cases, is not always borne, but it is learned, and that you can achieve your dreams, no matter what cards you are dealt in life.”
Find out more about studying at Westminster Business School.
Find out about last year’s Honorary Doctorates.
Photo credit: Tempest Photography
