The event at the luxurious Bambo Village Resort, Duplex Strip, Kololi, was staged by United States Poultry and Egg Export Council and sponsored by Gamfood Trading and South Dakota Soybean Checkoff.
The fest featured top-rated Gambian chefs, and restaurants, showcasing spicy cuisines from all over the world amid maximum entertainment from popular DJ Wonjo of Taxi FM.
Moreover, the event was a memorable celebration of American chicken products, while fostering strong business ties between American exporters and stakeholders in The Gambia.
Shortly after a conducted tour of the various stalls, US Ambassador Cromer shared her impression with journalists, expressing delight to be associated with the event.
She thanked Gamfood Trading and other stakeholders for their efforts in organising such an event.
“I had a chance to stop at the vendors and I’m about to taste all of their delicious smelling recipes. I see chicken barbeque, chicken charmaine, chicken ‘benachin’ and there is a lot of varieties here.”
US Ambassador acknowledged that the US Department of Agriculture sponsored the chicken food fair, reminding that US chicken sold in The Gambia is the very same quality of chickens that Americans eat in the US.
“Chicken is a wonderful food source and it is good for brain health, to build muscles and bones as well.”
Ambassador L. Cromer thus encouraged all to buy American chicken as it is the best quality chickens one can buy in the country, revealing that over US$38M worth of chicken was imported into The Gambia in 2022.
“So, Gambians like chickens, as do I. So please come and try American chickens.”
To that end, the US Diplomat encouraged US firms to continue to invest in The Gambia.
“Americans working with our Gambian partners create good jobs for youths and it is through which the economy will grow.”
She thus thanked all the sponsors and the organisers of the first-ever chicken fest in the country.
For his part, Abbas Akar, managing director, Gamfood Trading, thanked the US ambassador for gracing the event, saying they are very much appreciative of her attendance.
He added that her attendance at this first-ever American Chicken Fest would encourage more people to eat American chickens in view of its numerous benefits.
Bankie Grey Johnson, director of Hot Ink Media representing the United States Poultry and Egg Export Council, the brainchild of this first-ever chicken fest, thanked Gamfood Trading and the US Ambassador for honouring their invitation at the launch of the first-ever American Chicken Fest in The Gambia.
Bankie, a fast-rising star in the PR industry, explained that the idea behind the initiative is due to the widely held misconceptions among people that imported chickens are not safe for Gambians.
It was against that backdrop that they staged the fest to dispel such misconceptions relating to American chickens.
“American chickens is a US dear food which means that they don’t allow any GMOs and other substances to be added and pumped into the food to make it healthier and safer for consumption.”
Bankie equally dwelled on some of the careful process it undergoes to make it safe and consumable, which all contribute to it tastes and soft nature, thus making it competitive.
He reminded that in the past most of the consumptions used to be fish, but of recent, they’ve all seen the high price of fish in the market.
This, he added, forced people to depend on another source of meat, assuring that American chickens are the safest products when it comes to poultry that Gambians can consume.
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