A Tooting man has escaped his own ‘sketchy’ past around with the help of cooking and his range of sauces is now available at Selfridges.

Jemal Peters, aka Big J, has seen his Big J’s Kitchen – Da Flavour of Da Street brand take off and he’s even giving back some of the profits to help young offenders.

The 30-year-old father-of-one said: “Growing up in Tooting I done a lot of things I probably shouldn't have been doing, but felt it necessary at the time.

“I also use cooking as a therapeutic tool to get away from the madness on involved with the street life.”

Jemal’s life changed nine years ago when his daughter was born and he got a job working with young offenders.

He said: “Eventually I got fed up of the office job and decided it was time to start my own business.

“The light bulb moment came to me at a BBQ I was throwing.

“I would always have cookouts and make own recipes and sauces, but never thought it could be a business until one day I got fed up of working for other people and thought ‘this could work’.

Describing his sauces as the ‘true authentic taste of the streets and our culture on your plate’, Jemal first started selling his sauces at delis and butcher’s shops while promoting the brand on social media.

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The product has sold well and he has amassed 11,000 Instagram followers, and now Big J’s Kitchen’s sauces are available at one of the nation’s most prestigious stores, Selfridges.

He said: “I'm excited as that's one of the best stores in the whole world. It's a big achievement. It's a bold statement to show the world we are here to play ball.

“But I'm not getting complacent, it's just the beginning of my plans and we have still got a lot more work to do and goals to execute.”

Part of Jemal’s plans is the OR? Project to help young offenders into business using some of the profits from Big J’s Kitchen.

He said: “I grew up committing crime daily to survive so I understand the harsh reasons that put you in the situation of offending.

“This makes young offenders something that's close to my heart and I firmly believe that if given genuine opportunity young offenders’ lives can be changed around.”

Go to bigjskitchen.com