Our founder...
Driss Bensouda began his career in The Gambia in 1987, having set up an import and export company trading in textiles and general household goods and appliances.Noting that The Gambia lacked a modern butchery of international standards, he researched in Britain and in The Gambia, found a location in The Gambia’s fashionable Fajara residential and shopping district, and opened his doors in 1993.
The open secret of expansion at the Butchers is an uncompromising commitment to providing first-class meals and an attentive and friendly service in an attractive setting. Our menu is extensive by any standard, offering old favourites and ’new’ flavours from far and wide - North Africa, the Mediterranean, France, England and Italy, North America and the Far East - The world is our oyster...
Our food always looks as good as it tastes, and portions are generous. We grow our own vegetables and contract the breeding of semi-free-range pigs and the supply of top-quality beef and lamb. As for our fish and seafood, it’s fresh from the sea - Always the ’catch of the day!’.
Driss Bensouda’s friends and customers say that he is obsessed with food and with providing only the best. In his own words:
"My abiding passion for food and wine is what makes The Butchers Shop what it is. Above all, I enjoy what I am doing, and want to communicate my fascination to everyone I meet - especially my customers. These include local and expatriate business and professional people and the many tourists for whom eating at The Butchers is a memorable ingredient of their holiday - even a prime reason for coming back to The Gambia.
What will the future bring? I'd like to think that we could make the ethos of The Butchers Shop global, making it a name and service that stands for quality wherever you are in the world. I’d like everyone, everywhere, whether eating out or at home, to relish the kind of food that we prepare: fresh, healthy, beautiful to look at and to taste - food that celebrates a positive lifestyle. Watch this space!"