Interviewer: Samantha Samuel
Founded by Senegalese chef Khadim Mbamba, Little Baobab has become one of London’s leading destinations for authentic Senegalese cuisine and culture. What began as a series of pop-ups and festival kitchens has grown into a vibrant restaurant at the The Africa Centre in Southwark, where food, music and community come together. Inspired by the spirit of teranga, the Senegalese tradition of hospitality, Little Baobab serves soulful dishes such as chicken yassa, mafe and thieboudienne, while showcasing African music and creativity. Through his cooking, Khadim shares the flavours and stories of Dakar, creating a warm and memorable dining experience for guests everywhere.
Q. Can you take us back to the beginning—what inspired you to found Little Baobab, and how did your personal journey shape the concept?
Khadim: I founded Little Baobab more than 10 years ago now. My personal story has been one of unexpected turns – I worked as a pharmacist in Senegal and didn’t even know how to cook when I arrived to the UK. I had some opportunities to start cooking when working with friends at a festival and really fell in love with it. Little Baobab grew very organically from first having some opportunities in restaurants I was working in and eventually going out on our own. I noticed that there were very few options for Senegalese food in London and really missed the food from my home. I also had an amazing community of Senegalese musicians around me, so started Little Baobab as pop-up events that brought Senegalese food and music together. Little Baobab has been through many different formats, we have now found a place as the resident restaurant in the Africa Centre, and I’m really proud to be still sharing Senegalese food and culture with so many people.
Q. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting Little Baobab, and how did you overcome them in those early stages?
Khadim: My biggest challenges when starting out were really around learning everything as I went along as I hadn’t run a business before and there was so much to figure out without a lot of support. I would say that these challenges did really help me as I connected with and learned from so many people, and it also meant that I tried lots of different ventures for the business which has been a really positive thing in the long run as we still do many of these (festival trading, music agency, catering, etc).
Q. Little Baobab celebrates African cuisine—how do you approach your menu, and what do you want people to experience or learn through the food?
Khadim: I know that for many of my guests, it’s their first time trying Senegalese food, so I really want my menu to cover the range of Senegalese flavours and introduce people to our dishes and ingredients. At our restaurant we run an al a carte menu for lunch which has typical Senegalese dishes, and a five-course set dinner menu where we are a bit more creative with our dishes and flavour pairings.
Senegalese food is really flavourful and is a great introduction for people to West African cuisine. We also want to promote and champion many of our traditional ingredients (baobab, millet, moringa, etc) that are now gaining recognition for their nutritional value – many are known as superfoods!
We also put on regular music events, and host other events by the Senegalese community (drumming, dancing, storytelling, etc) and hope that people can get a sense of our community and Teranga (Senegalese hospitality) when they visit our restaurant or attend our events.
Q. Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for Little Baobab, and how do you see the brand evolving over the next few years?
Khadim: I am excited to see where we grow to in the next few years. We love being at the Africa Centre and eventually we would also expand into our own home, a restaurant space where we can put down roots and settle in for a good long time. I really want to keep growing the business and to reach more people
I’ve also recently started a chef training course for young people in the UK, to teach basic kitchen and chef skills and also to focus on West African cuisine. I’m currently running the second round of the course and hope to expand this further in the future.
Q. The hospitality industry has ongoing conversations around diversity and representation—what changes would you like to see, and how do you think businesses like yours can influence that progress?
Khadim: We’re seeing a growing interest in West African food which is really exciting but there’s still a long way to go. One thing I’m really strong about and try to promote is to have an African team – both in the kitchen and front of house, to have everyone in the business really connected to our food and history, and to give opportunities particularly to young Senegalese people in the UK.
Check out our piece on the gorgeous Little Baobob here.
