Condiment Review: Lea and Perrins’ Tomato & Worcester Table Sauce.

I struggle to think of many moments I have enjoyed more in my life.

I am sat at my desk, my head-thrusting ridiculous to the truculent growls of Phil Anselmo, while I lick, straight from the plate, my fifth dollop of Lea and Perrins’ Tomato & Worcester Table Sauce. Dirty, filthy, squalid…this, my friends, is living.

First, let’s deal with semantics. Although this proclaims itself to be ‘Tomato’ based sauce, this is no ketchup. Its slow glide out of the bottle; its satisfying dollop; its sheen brown complexion; its layered swells of subtle spicing: Lea and Perrins’ Tomato & Worcester Table Sauce could only ever be considered a Brown Sauce.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the bottle was the smell: that unmistakable tang of Worcestershire Sauce quivering at my sinuses. Lea & Perrins’ have taken the key element of their Orient infused secret sauce and stiffened it up for the twenty-first century. Perhaps a criticism to be levelled at the original Worcestershire Sauce is its lack of versatility; sometimes all you want is a reassuring blob of shimmering gloop on the side of your plate. Lea and Perrins’ Tomato & Worcester Table Sauce is a sauce in its own right, ready to hold its own at any organised gorging or impromptu graze.

Aside from its pungency, the taste is complex, fluctuating and escalating as it spreads over the tongue. As it makes contact, it disperses its generous flavours, opening the pores to exotic scents and a sweet spicy piquancy. The heat here is not chilli hot, but rather a delightful bitter and peppery aftertaste, fluttering generous through the neglected realms of my palette. With each mouthful, subtle whispers of the East arc and swirl, tickling the taste buds, unleashing a rush of eager saliva. This is playful, addictive, and damn tasty.

It works with bacon; it works with sausage; it works with chicken; it even works a treat with grilled vegetables. The point is, this stuff will better any breakfast, boost any barbecue, or boss any banquet. It is very, very good.

Saying that, with my beard full of sauce and a grin of mad pleasure on my face, it works pretty well on its own too.

(A bottle of Lea and Perrins’ Tomato & Worcester Table Sauce cost me £2.05 from my local Tesco).