A CHEF who opened a restaurant serving the food he missed from his native Haiti has launched a range of bottled sauces.

Jean Daniel Francois, who established the Tiki Bar and Grill Shack at Kinson, has the Caribbean Magic range in dozens of shops.

He and his wife, who is from Bournemouth, moved to the UK from the Caribbean in 2010.

He said: “When I came here, I was really missing the food. I thought if I miss it so much, why don’t I open a Caribbean restaurant myself?”

Mr Francois began providing food at markets, including Christchurch and Boscombe, and at festivals, but decided he should train at Bournemouth and Poole College before opening a restaurant. He worked at the Kings Arms in Christchurch, at fast food outlets and a Harvester, while studying for three years.

His restaurant aimed to unite the three Caribbean cultures – the Spanish speaking countries, the French-speaking culture of Haiti and the Jamaican tradition.

“After about eight or nine months, I felt the need to open a second restaurant and I did. It was 10 times harder to control,” he said.

He decided to shut the second restaurant, at Southbourne, and concentrate on “scaling up” through his concept for bottled sauces and seasoning.

“It’s a way to make your food taste amazing with not much effort,” he said.

There are three sauces already available: a hot jerk sauce and marinade, a smokey version and a mild version intended for families. “It’s vegan, but it’s better with meat, I would say,” said Mr Francois.The products took around eight months to develop, with the support of Virgin StartUp in Bournemouth, and are manufactured in Portsmouth.

They are being stocked in around 25 Budgens stores in London and in around 40 other shops, mostly butchers, including four in Bournemouth.

A mayonnaise is also being developed, along with a coconut caramel alcoholic cocktail.

Mr Francois added: “There’s a lot of work to done but I’m confident with this product we will make it to the top. I applied for the BBC Dragons Den after speaking to former dragon Piers Linney at last week’s StartUp and Scale Summit in Bournemouth. Hopefully I get accepted and I’ll have a chance to show what the product can do to a wider audience.”

n Jean Daniel Francois gives a cooking masterclass at electrical store Purewell in Christchurch on Monday, October 29, 6-8pm. Tickets for the Pure Caribbean Magic Show cost £15 via Eventbrite.co.uk