Fulham finally gets some taste

Yawn. The drudgery of another weekly shop. Fish fingers, check. Bog roll, check. Dr Gillian's super colon cleansing Quinoa sprinkles, check. Reggae Reggae Sauce... Oh, no. They never have that.

Hang on a minute. There's something here, nestling at the back of this shelf.

I see red, green and yellow... I hear music!

Can it be?

It is!

Potential Reggae Reggae takeaway site?

We scoured Battersea for potential sites for the imminent Reggae Reggae takeaway. Could this little blue place be it? Note the sold sign, central Battersea location and affluent foot traffic gagging to get a bit of music in their takeaway. Any other suggestions?

Near-molecular gastronomy: all up in Illona's grill

Illona has emailed us with her recipe. It's a cut above most - quite literally people. In her words:

"Just thought I'd share my recipe with you. I got a couple of fresh chicken breasts and put a few slices down them both, not all the way through, just deep enough to help the flavour penetrate. I marinaded them in Reggae Reggae sauce and then put the under the grill. Everytime I turned them I brushed a little more sauce on. Then to top it off I put a few slices of mature cheese over the top and let it melt under the grill. It was delicious. Here's a pic of how the meal looked. I recently improved on this too by adding a couple of strips of crispy streaky bacon over the top. Try it out!"

Seriously Ils, you had us at 'a few slices'. But the cheese and bacon? Total, unadulterated Reggae Reggae GENIUS. And check out the picture... Crispy potatoes! Corn!

What a way to return after a month away.

Verdict: Illona - you get a 9/10. Pure grilled gold.

Distracted

We admit it. We've been distracted. The ongoing drought of Reggae Reggae Sauce in South West London hit us hard.

At the same time, a friend returned from America with bucketloads of crap to eat. We discovered Miracle Whip, and decided that was our favourite sauce.

But we got bored of its creamy tanginess. We craved the spice. The sweetness. The spicy sweetness. It was the music calling us. The music you only get from one particular sauce.

And then this happened. We are so back.

Reggae sauce man to open takeaway
ThisislocalLondon.co.uk, May 24, 2007

The entrepreneur made famous for his 'Reggae Reggae Sauce' on BBC Two's Dragons' Den is opening a takeaway in Battersea.

Levi Roots, from Brixton, presented his grandmother's recipe for West Indian jerk sauce to the millionaire panel of investors on the business show.

Telecoms boss Peter Jones and Australian private investor Richard Farleigh agreed to pay £25,000 each for a 20 per cent share of his business.

Roots and his family have been selling Jerk Chicken and ribs using the secret recipe barbecue sauce for several years at Notting Hill Carnival.

They only started to sell the sauce itself at last year's event and sold more than 4,000 bottles, which inspired him to take his business scheme to the TV experts.

Reggae singer and chef Levi, real name Keith Graham, strummed his way into the Den initially willing to give up only 20 per cent of his business.

His takeaway is due to open in the next couple of weeks, although no date is yet confirmed.

Reggae Reggae Sauce launch party announced - 20th April, London

Reggae Reggae Sauce creator Levi Roots has announced that the official Reggae Reggae Sauce launch party will be next Friday night at Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton.

He'll be there, performing with the Dub Asante Band. There'll also be speeches and a Reggae Reggae buffet, served up by the The Roots Rasta-raunt.

There will also be 'special guests, from The World of Media, Entertainment and Business'. Peter Jones will be there. And maybe Jordan will turn up? Or Neil and Christine Hamilton?

We can't make it (dammit) but there will be some blog spies in attendance. If you're going, we'd love to hear about your night!

Get your tickets at www.reggaereggaesauce.com.

Bubba's barbie blowout - Reggae Reggae Sauce-o-rama

Please indulge our continuing obsession with Bubba Chunk and his lovely food diaries. For Bubba has surely created a spectacular barbecue spread.



This fellow is one crazy Reggae Reggae Sauce lover. It's on everything!

We're pretty sure he cleaned his barbecue with it afterwards too. Mind you, he can afford to - Reggae Reggae Sauce seems to be in relatively ample supply in his neck of the woods...

Share some with us, would you Bubba?

Tropical fruit Bubba-licious

Our new bestest pal Bubba Chunks is one helluva Reggae Reggae Sauce fan. Go check out his food diaries. They are the awesomest thing we've seen for ages. The Chunk eats for England.

He sent us this picture of his RRS-enhanced pizza experience:



His post says it all (and in a gloriously juvenile font to boot):

"... a slice of Goodfella’s Deeply Delicious loaded cheese pizza topped (by myself) with peppers and ham, and I added Reggae Reggae Sauce to dip - it really does go with anything!"

Reggae Reggae drought hits South-West London

See that gap?

Fourth shelf down, on the right?

That's where your faithful friends at Reggae Reggae Blog fill up on sauce.

That little gap's been empty for over a week.

Somebody do something.

Hurry.

Putting the 'tang' in Tangmere

Reggae Reggae Blog insider Tash from Tangmere has shared her meal with us via the magical medium of mobile telephony.

It is, and I quote, "loin of port marinaded then grilled served with jacket pot and salad with citrus and poppy seed dressing. Mmm".

Are you Mmm-ing the Reggae Reggae Sauce or your fancy salad dressing, Tash?

Tangy, none the less...

We want new jobs drawing cartoons all day

We were in Sainsbury's and bought some red wine. It was to go with our Reggae Reggae prawn curry. Despite not really liking South African wine, we were strangely drawn to Stormhoek.

And when we say strangely drawn, we mean it.

This led us to wonder whether we could make an easy living drawing cartoons for Reggae Reggae Sauce bottles.

We think we could. (Although we know we need to work on our noses. PJ's is way more... Buttony.)

Reggae Reggae Sauce site gets a makeover

Strange things are afoot over at the official Reggae Reggae Sauce website. Levi's original site has been 'recooked' and is all swish, complete with the new bottle and logo and stuff!

Although it's not quite finished, there's a link to investor and Reggaetrepreneur Peter Jones' site, where you can watch his latest management video 'Giant strides from humble beginnings'.

Watch it as soon as you can. We suggest you spend at least 30 seconds wondering why PJ drives around with just under 48 feet of rope in the boot of his Bentley, then about 12 seconds questioning why he chose those socks.

Another joins the campaign...

Woooooooo!

Someone buy the Cookie Monster a camera, eh?

We invited Cookie Monster to send us pictures of his/her Reggae Reggae adventures. We do that a lot. We're like weird web lurkers, popping up in the comments of blog posts to groom the future generation of Reggae Reggae pioneers. Or something. It's not as weird as it sounds.

Anyway, Cookie Monster sent us this nice message:

"sadly, i dont have a camera at the moment so i cant send you a picture of me dinner, but i can describe it! i decided to mix some of the Reggae Reggae sauce into my mashed potato and i had that with chicken and veggies. it came out quite nice and the sauce a definate kick to it, a touch more spicier than BBQ but good all the same! im now recommending it to all my friends. in fact im going to get meself some mroe bottles when i go in to sainsburys next!"

We feel you, man. Thanks for the eloquent and satisfying writeup. Who needs pictures when you've got words, eh?

Anyone got a camera for Cookie Monster? Want our camera? We'll sell it to you for, like, £30.

Reggae by numbers

Dennis Howlett, author of a blog for professional accountants no less, seems to appreciate a bit a' music in his life.

But has he tried it? And will he share his Reggae Reggae adventures with us? Could this be the start of a following in the professional accountant community? And will that lead to all the professional accountants in the country discovering another life, shipping off to Jamaica and living a life of sun, sand and sauce, devoid of the dull necessity of mathematics?

Probably.

(Apart from whether he's tried it or not. We think that's a no. Rise to the challenge, Dennis... And share your thoughts.)

Who needs words when you got pictures

Proper tings - the Reggae Reggae Sauce song. In case you'd missed it.

The video starts off well, with some bloke calling up Levi who rapidly redirects his Hummer (driving through what looks alarmingly like Streatham) to the site of a Reggae Reggae Sauce emergency.

Not sure what happens after that. Things seem to end up in a school, where kids pile all manner of crap in a saucepan (does Reggae Reggae Sauce really have cucumbers in it?) then end up cramming their faces full of deep-fried breaded chicken. Jamie would be horrified.

A high point, however, is when Levi sings "Welcome to the rasta-raunt." Awesome.

Britain in sauce crisis

Remember when the fuel blockades / rising oil prices / a refinery explosion meant people all rushed out and panic-bought petrol?

Filling stations were rammed full of irritating people driving ridiculous cars like Volvos, Ford Probes and Mercedes 4X4s filling their children's drinking bottles with super unleaded in case they didn't have enough gas to drive them the 300 metres to school in the morning.

It looks like we're about to have similar problems at Sainsbury's if redandyroo has got his facts straight.

Best get down there and fill up. QUICK!

Recycle more. The earth will thank you.

Did you know that glass recycling in 2003 saved enough energy to launch 10 space shuttle missions?

No, neither did we. It's a little fact we found here.

Next time you're recycling your empty bottle of Reggae Reggae Sauce, remember you're doing your bit to ensuring we can all eventually move to Mars and still have Bournemouth to pop back to for a nice holiday.

Don't hassel the Hoff: Reggae Reggae stir fried chicken and courgettes

We love the healthy dishes. This ones another classic - Reggae Reggae Chicken with noodles and fresh coriander. It's been a while since we saw a recipe here. Let's waste no more time. Pay attention at the back.

You will need:

2 x chicken breasts
1 x large courgette, chopped into big strips
1 large handful of fresh coriander
2 x nests of medium egg noodles
1 x teaspoon of olive oil
2 x tablespoons of soy sauce
1 x tablespoon of sesame oil
1 x teaspoon of crushed red chillis
Reggae Reggae Sauce

Cut up the chicken into small pieces. Heat up a wok with the olive oil in it until it's super hot. Stir fry the chicken for a couple of minutes, then add the soy sauce, crushed chillis and a splash of RRS. When it's all cooked in brown, pop in the courgette and cook for a couple of minutes - but not so much that the courgette goes mushy. You want to keep some crunch in those bad boys.

Cook the noodles, and drain. Run some soy sauce and the sesame oil through the noodles, and place a nice pile in two bowls. Top with the chicken and courgettes and dump a large handful of fresh coriander on the top. Simple. Effective. Musical.

Verdict: Protein rich, spicy, sweet and fresh. David Hasselhoff in a bowl.

Keep the music in Wales: Our mission

Reggae Reggae Sauce manufacturer G Costa is planning on moving sauce production from its factories in Wales to Poland. Levi Roots doesn't want this - and neither do we!

There is already a Reggae Reggae Sauce shortage... Sign your name in the comments of this post or put one of these logos on your website or blog (or just print 'em out and stick 'em places - like Sainsbury's. Or Poland.) to tell the world that you want to keep the music in Wales!



Peace
Reggae Reggae Blog

'I heard it through the blog-vine'

Don's back again, this time with some beautifully-crafted lyrics designed to be sung to the sweet sounds of Marvin Gaye's 'I heard it through the grape vine'. We did just that, and it works. Now you try.

Welsh Reggaebit
by Don

Ooh, I bet you're wond'rin' how I knew
'bout G Costa`s plans to make I blue
With some Polish firm them knew before
Between the two of them firms.. Wales.. we love you more
Loosing work it mean so much to we
That not even Jah could ever comfort me!

Dontcha know that I heard it through the grapevine
That Reggae Sauce fac`tory on the de`cline

To loose them jobs is such a travesty
cause it mean so much to we,
You could have told we yourselves
that you in bed with someone else

But instead no, me heard it through the grapevine
Our Reggae Sauce fac`tory on the de`cline

I know a man aint supposed to cry
but these tears I cant hold inside
to loose them jobs is such cruel fate you see.
That Reggae sauce it means so much to we

Dontcha know that I heard it through the grapevine
Our Reggae Sauce fac-tory on the de`cline

People shout on behalf of our Welsh friends you see
loosin them jobs it meant so much to we
make a stand, sing out and shout for real
Take on G Costa dragons fiery deal
fight their plans,tell them to keep it real!
Our welsh cousins really need this deal!

Dont you know that I heard it through the grapevine
Our Reggae Reggae Sauce fac-tory on the decline....

Ports Thoughts sought sauce. What was left? Nought.

Mr Ports and Ali are big fans of Dragons Den. This, obviously, led them to buy a lovely bottle of Reggae Reggae Sauce.

Now, normal people would try a little bit on the side of the plate. Then they'd splash a bit on a kebab or chicken breast and cook it up. They might even try a bit of dipping. But not Mr Ports and Ali. Oh no.

Mr Ports and Ali decided to marinade some chicken pieces in the contents of AN ENTIRE BOTTLE. As Mr Ports tell us, quite matter-of-factly, via email:

"Yes we marinaded the chicken in a full bottle of Reggae Reggae Sauce and then cooked it up. Two generous portions."

We'd commend the brevity (that dish must've been hot!) but we urge you not to try this at home. With the news of the closure of the Reggae Reggae Sauce factory and numerous reports of no stock in Sainsbury's stores throughout the UK, we all need to conserve sauce in case of drought.

Be careful people!

Reggae Reggae Sauce factory lays off 179 jobs

G Costa, the manufacturer of Reggae Reggae Sauce, is laying off 179 workers through the closing of two factories in Wales. It's moving them to Poland.

Two points.

One.

My local Sainsbury's Local is out of Reggae Reggae Sauce, and has been for two days now. Far from laying people off, G Costa needs to be hiring. A LOT of people. TWO DAYS! And by the sound of many other people across t'internet, many Sainsbury's stores are out of stock too. Think about it - customers with money are making their way to a supermarket to buy something in particular. Lots of people are finding the shelf empty. We are not at war. We are not in a desperate recession. There is NO REASON why decent, honest folk clutching £1.49 that want to put a bit of music in their food should go without. This is BAD. So bad I'm using CAPITAL LETTERS.

Two.

When crappy chav-cap maker Burberry wanted to close its Welsh factory, all manner of irritating celebrities popped out of the woodwork to jump to its defence. Why is this not happening yet for Reggae Reggae Sauce? Why hasn't Floella Benjamin, Rusty Lee, Ainsley frickin' Harriott or all manner of other artistes with a vague love of spicy Caribbean sauce jumped on the campaigning bandwagon? C'MON PEOPLE!

I'm done.

Jimbo's sausage spot - Taste the Reggae Reggae Difference

Jimbo says Reggae Reggae Sauce goes well with Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Mustard sausages.

Excuse us, we're off out. Not sure which sausages Jimbo's talking about, but Sainsbury's doesn't close for 52 minutes so we've got plenty of rummaging time...

Pepper Hot - a love song by Don

Don has sent us another poem. This time it's more of a love song. What a legend.

Pepper Hot
by Don

Levi makes sauce hot n fiery and spouts rhyme like Tipper Ire
We love the spicy flavour it’s the only taste to savour
Me girl she like it hot…At one forty nine! It hit the spot.
When first it hit her lips, lord it make her wind them hips
It’s such a full blown taste it make her rock that lickle waist
Wid reaction such as this, its me girl me want to kiss
She say dog you gettin frisky, that reggae reggae sauce worse than whisky!
It makes you loose your head like when you slip into me bed
I say girl I’m at full throttle…she said “we need another bottle!”
She say step out to de store.. If you wanna get some more
I say girl I like your chat…She say bwoy it not like that…
I just need one more bottle to get me goin at full throttle...
She leave me chompin at the bit. Man, now she got a taste for it!
I say girl I’m only human and this pepper needs consuming
She say bwoy you know the measure if you want some of this treasure…
Damn I wish I could buy more from that bloody Sainsbury store.

Later that day

Hi there…Is that your “Buy it now” price…How many bottles have you got??

Food for Thought lets the laziness shine through

Oh joy! Our friends over at Food for Thought have shared their Reggae Reggae meal with us! It's a wonderful combination of Reggae Reggae marinaded chicken and mashed potato. And they've even managed to make their mash so it doesn't look like scrambled egg. Now that's talent.

And so to the review.

In one word, we'd describe this dish as 'elegant'. There is no room for misunderstanding. As Ihsan from Food for Thought says: "My housemate just used it as a lazy dinner, and marinated the chicken with the sauce before baking it an oven at 200 C. Nothing too special, meh."

Excellent. We salute your housemate, Ihsan. They grabbed a bit of chicken, added some music, cooked it for a bit, and served with some mashed potato. It's this kind of simplicity that's missing from modern cooking. And life, if we were being honest. And there are so many convenience meals out there that take just us long but fill your constitution with nonsense. Not here - Reggae Reggae Sauce is as natural as it gets. Meh.

Verdict: Honest, quick and lazy. Just how we like our housemates. 8/10.

Exclusive EXTREME CLOSEUP...



Mmm.

The sound from the Reggae Reggae underground

Don sent us a poem. We won't say anything else, as it's so beautiful we wouldn't want to sully it with our unenlightened, superficial comment. Actually, we'll just say this: Go Don.

ODE TO THE SPICE SENSATION
By Don

Bwoy, Me see me Braintree brethren has been dancing with the devil...In de Sainsbury house, whereas... me?.. See me sneak in like a mouse!

Glory be to Jah... They got dat spice into de store!

No longer will I fret ... get tired..And cold and wet. Searchin every store without a bottle to be scored.

Finally...Me gets de spice sensation which has swept right thru de nation!

So me pick up me sauce and me saunter to the counter....
Where me pays just ONE FORTY NINE for me Reggae Reggae sauce encounter.

BWOY!! ITS REGGAE REGGAE HOT...

SURELY THE DEVILS IN LEVI`S BREW??

But at least me got some brother.. that's a bottle more than you!!

You can keep you`re "buy it now," yeah, you can Ebay all you like!
As for me my friends..

I `m gonna jerk chicken tonight!

eBay takes a surreal, but welcome, turn

You're going to have to beat us to this auction. You really are. We're so up for this.

Here is the text that goes with the lot, which includes a bottle of Reggae Reggae Sauce, a hideous mug and some cigarette papers. Our favourite bits are "i went straight to the stand with me mandatory basket" and "or collect from braintree essex". If you read it fast it's like a magical, sensuous Greek tragedy:

no woman,no cry
cos ive all you need for a good time
this little package nearly cost me my life
the sauce .........
well lets say it was like a rugby scrum
picture this.......
its 7-55...AM
outside sainsbuggs in essex
and theres a load of blokes milling around
all of em trying not too look tooo sus
no girlies...... just blokes
well lucky for me ive done a reckie the night before
so
i
know
where
the
treasure is
the doors open and its like that game we played at school
(before health and saftey was an issue)
..................british bulldog.................
i went straight to the stand with me mandatory basket
grabbed two by two the merchandise
yes i cried at last
we`ll reggae for it now...
was playin in me head all the way round
then the trouble started
this other mush...a big lad ,was tellin me how much this stuff was makin on e-bay
and how he was gonna make his millions by takin all he could and puttin it on here
well i wasn`t gonna put up with pure greed and profiteering so i picked up the whole stand and marched off with it!!
passing out bottles to the rest of the peeps that had now found the the centre of the universe boy were they glad
as for the greedy one he only got six or so bottles and i got ten
(well i have at least eight friends )
and yes i did give it to them
no charge
but now curiosity has got the better of me so here goes
one bottle
one cup/mug
and one packet of
bob marley pure hemp extra long papers
lets see how they go shall we?
99p start
low postage only £3.00
or collect from braintree essex
then dig out your bob marley
or king tubby albums and ............

Catch of the day: Not Reggae Reggae Scrambled Egg

This looks worryingly like scrambled egg and asparagus. But it ISN'T. What looks like scrambled egg is, in fact, mashed sweet potato. It didn't look like scrambled egg in real life - you'll have to just take our word for that. It's a trick of the light.

It is, in fact, Reggae Reggae Cod n' Mash. Ready for a recipe? Good. Here goes...

What you'll need:

2 x cod fillets (make it from sustainable sources, eh?)
1 x large sweet potato
Bunch of asparagus
1 x teaspoon of grainy mustard
Salt and pepper
2 x teaspoons of Reggae Reggae Sauce

Line an oven dish with twice as much tin foil as you think you need, and splash it with olive oil. Position the cod fillets on the foil skin side up, rub in the oil, then flip over so they're skin side down. Mix the mustard and RRS and brush onto the fish. Season with salt and freshly-ground pepper. Close the foil over the top to create a 'parcel' containing the fish. Place in an oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

Peel and cut up the new potato, then place into a pan of cold water with a little salt. Bring to the boil on the hob and simmer until the potato is nice and soft. When the potato's cooked (it'll take about 10-15 mins) take the fish out of the oven, open the foil parcel and return to the oven for the fish to brown. This will only take 5 minutes.

Drain the potato and mash with butter and a little olive oil and salt. Steam or microwave (or boil) the asparagus until tender.

Serve the mash, asparagus and fish with a little butter and lemon juice, with Reggae Reggae Sauce for dippage. Try to take a photo so it doesn't look like scrambled egg.

Verdict: Brain food. Pimp'd. 7/10

Important operational upgrades to the Reggae Reggae Blog

OK people, listen up. This is a customer service announcement.

Firstly, we've bought the web address www.reggaereggaeblog.com. It just redirects to the Blogger site for the time being, but means you can pass on the web address more easily. For example: "Hey dude! This is some SPICY chicken! Make sure you email pics of it to Reggae Reggae Blog Dot Com!" See? It's easy. (For all you nerds out there, our RRS feed stays the same.)

Next, we've got a new email address. It's got something to do with buying the web address, but we won't get technical on you. It's sauce@reggaereggaeblog.com. Feel free to use it to send recipes, share your feelings about RRS, or tell us about any personal problems you may have.

And lastly, we've got a Skype handle! Yay! You can chat with us LIVE from Reggae Reggae Blog HQ whenever you need us. For ANYTHING. Even to just swear at us if you like, or talk about ketchup. It's... Wait for it... 'reggaereggaeblog'. Neat eh?

Lesson over. Back to work.

Warm fusion: Ambassador, you're spoiling us

Following our positive experience at the Niki Noodle, we decided to push the boundaries of the fusion between Reggae Reggae Sauce and the Far East. Just think of as ambassadors. Ambassadors of sauce.

Anyway, we decided to spice up one of our favourite stir-fry recipes - sweet mango chicken n' noodles.

What you'll need:

2 x chicken breasts (organic, free-range only please - we're don't like torture / want to grow breasts in weird places)
1 x sliced mango
4 x spring onions, chopped into big pieces
2 tablespoons of mango juice (or orange juice)
1 tablespoon of sherry (or rice wine of you're a flash git)
1 x teaspoon of cornflour
A squeeze of honey
Salt and pepper
1 x tablespoon of soy sauce (and some extra for noodle splashing)
1 x tablespoon of Reggae Reggae Sauce
Chopped pak choi
Noodles for two

We just scared ourselves with the list of stuff you need for this. But it's easy. Put the mango juice, sherry, cornflour, soy sauce, Reggae Reggae Sauce and honey in a bowl and mix it well (that's the marinade). Cut up the chicken and dump it in the marinade. After a few minutes of marinading, throw the whole shebang in a very hot wok and brown the chicken.

As that's happening, cook the noodles, drain and splash with soy sauce and some sesame oil. Then add the fresh mango, spring onions and pak choi to the stir frying chicken and cook for a couple of minutes until all the veg is hot but not too soft. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve. Eat. Get angry. Switch chopsticks for fork. Eat. Love.

Strange things are afoot at the Circle K (well, the Fulham Sainsbury's actually)

"Just been for my weekly shop down at the Fulham Sainsbury's," says Reggae Reggae Blog reader and fellow South West Londoner T-Bone. "And there was no sign of Reggae Reggae Sauce anywhere. Perhaps it was once where that gap is on the bottom shelf? If not, where the hell is it?!"

Thanks for bringing this to our attention T-Bone. We'll look into it straight away and get back to you. But first, as is customary on these occasions, some theories:

Has the Fulham Sainsbury's let the side down and refused to stock RRS? Do they think their proximity to the trendy Kings Road means they're too good to put some music on the shelves?

Or do Levi and Peter need to up production at the Reggae Reggae plant to meet consumer demand?

We shall see.

The Clo show

Our new friend Pesky Clo over at Plump Fiction has shared her experiences of marinading chicken in Reggae Reggae Sauce. We admire her brevity, honesty, and use of nice pictures.

She's said we can publish them too, so in our book she's well cool. Go Clo.



The least we can do in return is give Clo a review of her meal. Here goes...

The main thing we love about your meal, Clo, is the wide colour palette. From the turquoise plate (we used to have one that looked EXACTLY the same at college! It even had that chip on the edge!) to the green beans, orange chutney, beige cous cous and the vivid reds, blacks and browns of the Reggae Reggae chicken, we're full just looking at your dinner.

It's pretty healthy too. Almost a perfect carb / protein / fibre ratio. We even forgive you for using another sauce for dipping as we like mango chutney so much. Fine work.

If we were going to give you some constructive feedback, though, we'd suggest you improve on the presentation. Those beans could be in a nice criss-crossed pile, or at least all facing the same way. And that cous cous is just a splat. Tut tut. Ever head of a timbale?

Verdict: Rustic, both in flavour and presentation. 8/10.

Oh my cod! Surfing on some rocket

Here's a tasty snack when you've got back from a heavy night out seeing your favourite French electro-ambient duo play some soaring futuro-prog-trance.

What you need:

A wholemeal pitta
2 x fish fingers
Some rocket (posh people spell it roquette)
Tartare Sauce
Reggae Reggae Sauce

Bit of a balancing act this, as you're working with two sauces. You may need practice to get the proportions right, but stick with it.

Grill the fish fingers and toast the pitta. Split the pitta open, and put a small layer of tartare sauce on each side. Cover both sides with rocket leaves, then arrange your fish fingers on top of the rocket. Drizzle a line of Reggae Reggae Sauce down the length of each fish finger to give those bad boys zing.

Close up the sandwich and eat, preferably with two pints of water and some paracetamol before bedtime.


(Air @ The Forum, Kentish Town)

Bit on the side: Eggy Eggy Sauce

Here's another lunchtime special (particularly if you've just been to the gym like us - smug grin). Whip up a nice omelette and salad with a dollop of Reggae Reggae Sauce on the side.

We choose a cheese and mushroom omelette, with a spinach and cherry tomato salad to go with it for that extra kick of self-congratulation.

Reggae Reggae Sauce is not intrinsic to this dish, so we won't give you the recipe. To be honest, we don't really know how to make omelettes. It's more a case of using the force and hoping it doesn't turn into a burnt mess of scrambled egg, ruined pan and stinking kitchen.

But a bit on the side don't 'alf make it taste nice.

Undercover sauce: Down at the Niki Noodle

We've just returned from a very satisfying dinner at the Niki Noodle.

We had a lovely chicken and rice dish thing, with some kind of spicy curry sauce stuff. And a chicken miso soup thig, with noodles and ginger and beansprouts. And some pork belly with chilli sauce.

And we took our little box of Reggae Reggae Sauce, with which we augmented the dish when the (very nice and friendly) waitress wasn't looking.

See? Conclusive proof that every night can be a Reggae Reggae night. Even when you're in an unfamiliar environment.

Who thought Reggae would be so well received in the Far East*?

*South West London, actually.

The take-away: Reggae Reggae Sauce on the move

It had to happen. Sooner or later our hectic social life / surplus of charisma was to going to mean we had to out for dinner.

Not to worry - we had a take-away. By which we mean we took some RRS away with us. In a little tupperware box, concealed in an inner pocket.

Would we get away with it?

So nice they made it twice: Spaghetti Arrabiata

We won't go over this recipe again, as it's the same as the fettucini arrabiata except with... Spaghetti. And look, we put a bit of salad on the side. And we ran out of parmesan, so had to use some swiss cheese.

Anyhoo, we felt it was important to point out the juxtaposition of the red, white and green of the Italian flag (the pasta) with the green, yellow and red of the...

Hang on a minute. Isn't Levi and his family from Jamaica? The Jamaican flag is green, yellow and black.

Where did the red come from? Wait... They can't have...

It's bloody Lithuania!

eBay auction update: RRB reader makes contact with the buyer

The £7 bottle of standard, Sainsbury's stocked Reggae Reggae Sauce is holding steady on eBay.

A Reggae Reggae Blog reader contacted the current highest bidder to see what the HELL they were up to.

Here's the response they got:

Hello,
I am keen to purchase this item.
I probably mistyped £7.00 instead of 4.00.

Of course! Silly us! That makes total sense. Thanks for clearing that up...

(By the way, if any of you lot really want to go on eBay and spend ridiculous amounts of money on some RRS, go here. All proceeds go to Christie's, which helps the Christie Hospital in Manchester diagnose, fight and help people with cancer. Far more sensible than buying a normal bottle for just because some scammer's conned you into it! Lesson over.)

Lunchtime special: 'The Busker'

We just created a new recipe for lunchtimes.

You need:

Any Subway sub
Reggae Reggae Sauce

Buy any Subway sub (we choose a foot-long Chicken & Bacon Ranch on Honey Oat bread). Add Reggae Reggae Sauce. Eat.

Get it? Reggae on a subway. The Busker.

Sometimes we actually don't know how we do it, we really don't.

Why eBay is cool - Reggae Reggae Sauce for £7

There is a lot of Reggae Reggae Sauce for sale on eBay.

Our favourite is this 'brand new, sealed and unopened' bottle that is (at the time of writing) up to £7 in the bidding, with £2.75 P&P. Stay tuned for the results of the auction in 2 days, 17 hours time.

It's a standard bottle of sauce! It's £1.49 in Sainsbury's! Any Sainsbury's! There are 600 of them!

Nice work eBay seller creek_bench. You amaze us. And as for current top bidder bestiea - what were you thinking?! You'd better be American...

Back II basics: Jacket potato, cheese, baked beans n' ham

This is a very basic recipe. It's student food. But it's quick and nutritious, so don't diss it.

You need:

1 x large jacket potato
2 x slices of swiss cheese (we like Jarlsberg)
1 x thick slice of ham (we like fancy Wiltshire ham)
Half a tin of baked beans (we like Whole Earth baked beans cos they rock)
Reggae Reggae Sauce

We're not going to tell you how to make this. It's too easy. But make sure you add RRS to the beans while you're heating them. And have some on the side.

This is a simple meal that's good for you (particularly if you buy Whole Earth beans). It's also by far the best experience we've had so far with the sauce. It just works. In fact, it was so good we actually wept.

Verdict: 10/10. Touchdown.

Panic! Panic! We're over the deadline!

In small print on your Reggae Reggae Sauce bottle it says:

"Once opened, refrigerate and use within 5 days."

Look at the dates of the post on this blog. We're now six days old. It's the SIXTH day. The bottle's not finished. Dear lord, what have we done?

Quick! We need some options:

1. Tip the remaining Reggae Reggae Sauce down the sink, consigning the music to the London sewers forever. Buy another bottle and ensure future RRS servings are larger to reflect the five-day deadline.

2. Carry on and finish the bottle regardless, risking life and limb (and the possibility of mild food poisoning) in an attempt to save money / not waste any saucy goodness.

3. Leave the sauce in the fridge and glance at it nervously from time to time, stuck in a fraught and harrowing limbo over whether to go with options one or two.

4. Keep the bottle that started it all as a) an experiment to see what happens when Reggae Reggae Sauce goes bad and b) for posterity.

5. Invent time travel.

I've got the brains, you've got the prawns. Let's make lots of curry.

This is a good one. Can't beat a good curry. Particularly if it's a Reggae Reggae prawn curry.

You'll need:

1 x pack of cooked king prawns
1 x onion
1 x garlic clove
1 x small tin of chopped tomatoes
1 x teaspoon of curry powder (mild, medium or hot - your choice)
A squeeze of clear honey
A splash of RRS (and keep the bottle handy for some side dipping)
+ rice + veg to serve

This one's so easy it'll be done before you can say "I'm a prawn-again reggae fan".

Fry up the garlic and onion until tender in some olive oil, then add the prawns (cut up, if you like). Dump in a teaspoon of curry powder and stir for a couple of minutes. Throw in the tomatoes with a squeeze of honey and a splash of Reggae Reggae Sauce for some depth, heat and spice. Serve with rice (and some veg - perhaps some bok choy?) and extra RRS on the side.

Feel free to make this with whatever curry powder floats your proverbial boat. We used mild because we're posh, and added a bit of music with the RRS. But if you love hot food, have masochistic tendencies, or are from a region that prides itself in the spiciness of its cuisine (India, many parts of Africa, Birmingham) feel free to go crazy.

Verdict: 7/10. Not for everyone. But versatile and prawn jokes are funny.

What's so funny?

Paul says: "Levi Roots had instant brand appeal for me... I have to say that I can't stop snickering at 'jerk sauce'."

Peter Jones (or someone) speaks (or types)!

We couldn't help but share our blog with Reggae Reggae Peter (Peter Jones, one of the dragons off the telly) via the feedback link on his website.

Today, we checked our email and saw this:

From: contactreceipt@peterjones.tv

Thank you for drawing this to our attention, it's great!

No no. Thank you, Peter (or whoever).

The Italian Job: Fettucine Arrabiata

Royston from Bromley sends us this warming slice of the Mediterranean - Reggae Reggae fettucine arrabiata.

Ingredients:

1 x onion
1 x red chilli
1 x clove of garlic
1 x tin of chopped tomatoes
Pasta (whatever type - there's no need to be picky)
Reggae Reggae Sauce

It's pretty simple to make: just fry up the chopped onion, the finely chopped red chilli and a crushed clove of garlic in a pan (using olive oil, of course). Then add a tin of chopped of tomatoes and a splash of RRS (for extra heat) and simmer for 5 minutes. Top a bowl of pasta with the sauce and add grated parmesan and freshly ground black pepper.

We're totally bought into this. We like Italian food. We also think the RRS will add some gentle heat to this recipe.

What we are concerned about, Royston, is that you're serving this on some kind of satanic altar. Who eats spicy pasta off a marble plinth surrounded by church candles?

Verdict: A heavenly 9/10. Please don't kill us.

Flying Reggae Reggae Sauce spotted in Balham

We like people that correct people's English, then make mistakes in the English as they do it. It shows a complete contempt for our bland, structured society and fosters an environment of music and creativity.

We like Dave.

What's in a name?

Trinifood takes the debate to a higher level on her blog Can Cook, Must Cook.

She says quotes Tony Sewell, who wrote this about Roots in his weekly column for The Voice:

"On one level, some of us could say there is something a bit crass and stereotypical about a product called Reggae Reggae Sauce. However, I think this is a smart name, a wider audience can relate to this, a bit like Bob Marley’s Punky Reggae Party. Levi Roots has made his journey from the margins to the mainstream, he has done this and kept his integrity.”

What do you think? Has Trinifood made highlighted an important point? Is RRS really a statement from Levi's place on the margins? Is he bridging the gap between one man's passion and the machine that is Big Business? Has he brought a slice of Caribbean sunshine to Balham Sainsbury's?

Or has she just put too much music in her food?

The Jazzie B - halfway point

We decided to try the Jazzie B for ourselves. This is half-way through.

Comments include:

"Beautiful."
"It was a spicy symphony."
"A smilin' face, a thumpin' bass, for a happy race."

'The Jazzie B' - Reggae Reggae falafel sandwich

Tash from Littlehampton shares her late-night weakness: The Jazzie B.

All you need is:

2 x mini wholewheat pittas
4 x falafels
Some Reggae Reggae Sauce
Soul II Soul's Club Classics: Vol. 1

Instructions: Heat falafels. Toast pittas. Put falafel in pittas. Add Reggae Reggae Sauce. Put on Club Classics: Vol.1. Enjoy.

This sounds like quite an inspiring snack - although the high fibre content of the falafel and wholewheat pittas could lead to bloating should you not be used to a high-fibre diet.

Overall, however, this is a low-GI meal that's modular enough to scale up to a full dinner (perhaps with the addition of a salad or some chips.)

Verdict: 6/10. Will fill a hole, or several.

Get your Roots done

Any of you that haven't tried RRS yet - Levi judges you.

Just not cricket?

Awesomest gambling site Blue Square is allegedly offering a free bottle of RRS for everyone who bets more than £10 on the first round of the Cricket World Cup.

There are numerous links to this story - like this one and this one. We can't find a link on Blue Square itself though.

We also have no idea about cricket.

Too many condiments?

"Is ten too many condiments to own?" asks Barnes from Twickenham.

I dont think so. Not if you have a varied diet, anyway. After all, one needs something to go with everything. You never know when someone might pop round with some obscure fish that needs an ad-hoc tartare-mango mulch.

Nice to see you've got some music in your collection...

"Hey, I might even buy a bottle!"

Listen, Adem. You're in no position to comment right now on if you're yet to put any music in your food.

According to my own, admittedly made up, calculations, nobody in the UK is ever more than 17 feet away from a Sainsbury's. In the Ramsgate area alone there are 20 stores.*

In addition, one bottle of RRS is only £1.49. That's so cheap, it even beats Cattleman's Classic BBQ by 20 pence. And that's a WORLD CHAMPION sauce.

Get out there, have a try, and get back to us with your comments.

Peace and good cookin'.

* I hear Thanet is great for parking and the Whistable bogs are ace. (They'd need to be, after the long drive.)

Stir-fried chilli veg with rice n' peas

Hmm. An interesting way to spice up this lazy pile of dreary, proteinless, quasi-Asian mess. The chilli and Reggae Reggae Sauce will have blended together to create some nice heat. Often we hear that RRS is hotter than people expect. What did you think Levi meant when he said it 'puts music in your food'? It's hot, you idiot.

What's that white crap though? Mayo? Throw it out. There's only room for one sauce in your eco-fridge.

Apart from that, this meal is healthy and natural. Looks like a nice combo of french beans, broccolli and a light smattering of courgette. Sweet. If that's brown rice, it's full marks for health. Dr Gillian McKeith would be proud of you, if she wasn't so busy rummaging through your 'business'.

Verdict: A hot and healthy 7/10.