This particular kitchen staple is enjoying a moment thanks to good old Walker's Crisps.

Lea & Perrins (L&P), the original Worcestershire Sauce, has made a splash by collaborating with Walkers in bringing back the once discontinued Worcester Sauce Crisps.

The handy kitchen condiment was first invented and sold in 1837 by chemists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins.

Lea & Perrins has held a Royal Warrant in the UK since 1904, 120 years later - King Charles III was the sixth monarch to grant it in 2024

Inky brown, sweet and salty, funky and fishy, peppery and piquant, the sauce's exact ingredient list was kept secret ever since it was first .

A bit like Coca-Cola, apparently, only a handful of people know the true and manufacturing process of Lea & Perrins, which, like a good wine, is aged in the barrel for 18 months.

But there is much more you can do with this ingredient than just splash it in a Bloody Mary or liven up your beans on toast.

Chef Gordon Ramsay swears by it for a whole host of recipes including his famous cottage pie. In fact he says it is an essential ingredient in many of his recipes.

Gordon said: "My wife Tanya and I go out and have dinner once a week. We usually go to the Ivy, and I always order the same thing: Caesar salad and cottage pie.

"The waiters there think I'm so boring because I always have the same, but I just love it. I'll sit there with a dinky bottle of ketchup and one of Worcestershire Sauce, and that is just it for me."

Here is Gordon's favourite cottage pie recipe using Worcestershire Sauce:

Ingredients: Olive oil, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, 900g minced beef, 450g onions, peeled, chopped 2 cloves of garlic,

2 sprigs of fresh thyme leaves, picked and chopped, 2tbsps tomato puree, 25g flour, 200ml red wine, 75ml Worcestershire Sauce, 1 litre brown chicken stock, 1kg Desiree potatoes, peeled, halved 2 egg yolks

Method: Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F/ gas mark 6. Heat oil in a large pan until smoking hot. Season the mince and fry (in batches if necessary). Once cooked, drain off the fat. In a second large pan, fry the onions, garlic and thyme until soft and golden. Add the meat and the tomato puree and sprinkle with the flour. Stir for a few minutes to cook the flour, then add the red wine and Worcestershire Sauce and continue to cook until the liquid has reduced by half. Add the stock and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 30-40 minutes until thick and glossy

Cook potatoes in salted water until tender and mash them, beating in the egg yolks. Remove from heat and add more Worcestershire Sauce. Fork the potato over the meat and bake for 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

Gordon also uses Worcestershire sauce in his burgers, Spaghetti Bolognese, Lasagne, Welsh Rarebit, Jerk Chicken, Beef Wellington, his steak marinade and his stir fry vegetable noodles to name just a few of his recipes.