Roots says he has previously shown Oliver how to make ‘real deal’ jerk cuisine

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The chef and entrepreneur Levi Roots has described Jamie Oliver’s decision to launch a jerk rice dish as a mistake, as a row over cultural appropriation widened.

Oliver was called out on the product by the shadow equalities minister, Dawn Butler, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who questioned whether the chef knew what jerk was.

His “punchy” jerk rice dish contains garlic, ginger and jalapeños, whereas traditional jerk seasoning – which was developed by escaped African slaves on the Caribbean island – relies principally on two ingredients: allspice and scotch bonnet peppers.

Butler tweeted on Saturday: “It’s not just a word you put before stuff to sell products. This appropriation from Jamaica needs to stop.”

She also asked the Jamaica-born Roots – who appeared on Dragons’ Den with his now-bestselling Reggae Reggae jerk barbecue sauce – whether he would teach Oliver a masterclass.

Oliver said on Monday night he named his new product “punchy jerk rice” to show where he drew his culinary inspiration from. In a statement he said: “I’ve worked with flavours and spices from all over the world my whole career, learning and drawing inspiration from different countries and cultures to give a fresh twist to the food we eat every day. When I named the rice my intention was only to show where my inspiration came from.”

Critics of Oliver’s commercial promotion of Jamaican dishes may come to regard him as a serial offender. In his book The Return of the Naked Chef in 2000, he borrowed from another Jamaican staple, Saturday soup, “comfort food that originates in the West Indies”, describing it as a “chunky, robust soup that is supposed to use up any leftover vegetables,” and adding: “Who cares where its name comes from – it’s bloody tasty on a Monday, and that’s all that matters.”

He admitted changing the recipe, “to suit my taste”, adding: “I’ll probably get a slap for it, but that’s cooking and you can do what you like!”

During his appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, Roots said he had already shown Oliver how to make “the real deal” jerk chicken during a segment for Oliver’s YouTube channel filmed several years ago.

Roots said: “I do think it was a mistake by Jamie – either by him or by his team. Maybe he wasn’t actually involved in this,” he said.

Roots agreed with the GMB host Kate Garraway’s suggestion that the row erupted because specific ingredients were meant to go into jerk seasoning.

The celebrity chef Rustie Lee, who specialises in Jamaican food, said she had tasted the £2.35 microwaveable rice and it was “like Caribbean rice and beans”. “The jerk part of it is barbecue and you can’t barbecue rice,” she added.

A description of the rice on stockist Waitrose’s website said its creators have “mixed garlic, ginger and jalapeños to create a jerk marinade with attitude, and added this awesome spice mix to coconut-infused wholegrain rice, aubergine and kidney beans for a knockout combo”.

Butler’s tweet has drawn both agreement and criticism.

The Tory MP Neil O’Brien tweeted back: “If Jamie Oliver isn’t allowed to make jerk chicken because it’s cultural ‘appropriation’ [Dawn Butler is] going to go mad when she finds out about ‘Jamie’s Italy’.”

One Twitter user, Regina Holland, wrote: “Just because Dawn Butler’s an MP it doesn’t mean she can’t have an opinion on anything else. To say otherwise is ridiculous and single minded at best. She’s not saying nobody from Jamaica shouldn’t eat Jamaican food, she’s pointing out the bastardisation of our national dish.”