PODCAST: On the Marie Curie Couch with Levi Roots

This month, Jason is joined by entrepreneur, musician, chef, author and speaker Levi Roots. Born in Jamaica, he moved to the UK as a child and gained widespread fame in 2007 when he appeared on Dragon's Den, seeking investment in his Reggae Reggae Sauce. In this episode of On the Marie Curie Couch, Levi talks about the impact of losing his mum, Doreen, his grandma, Miriam, and his brother, Trevor. He also talks about growing up with his grandma after his mum came to the UK as part of the Windrush generation, as well as shedding light on the Jamaican tradition of Nine Night.

"I lost my mum two years ago, which is like my heart being ripped out from me. It's the only thing that makes me want to give up, but then again, it's the only thing that makes me want to continue. I can't think of any deeper loss, and I've had many, including my grandma who inspired my business and my sauces and my recipes, and every book that I've written is about my grandma. Losing my mum is a loss that I find really difficult to deal with. As a Caribbean person, we tend to keep a lot of these private things in."

"When someone dies in Jamaica, we have this thing called a Nine Night. But, before that, there is something called a Setup. And I grew up being involved in the Setup. The Setup is the night before the Nine Night, when special parts of the family come round and actually stay up all night."

Tap the link near the top of this page to listen to Levi's chat with Jason. Alternatively, listen to or download it via Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd prefer, you can read a full transcript of the episode. Be sure to like and subscribe so you know when we’ve uploaded a new episode – there are more conversations coming soon.