Born in Iringa, Southern highlands of Tanzania.James a self- taught chef. Raised by a single mother, who ran a small, local home based restaurant known as, “mgahawa” in Swahili to meet their basic needs. He learned most of his skills from working side by side with his mother. Chef James was worked in many restaurants across NYC and was a private chef for high profile officials. Currently he looks contribute as a Tanzanian chef by introducing and sharing his culinary expertise in Tanzanian cuisine within New York as his late mother taught it to him.Growing up with his younger brother and mother, he found himself in the kitchen helping his mother with her home-based restaurant. As a result he developed a strong passion for cooking at a very tender age. In 1997, mother passed away and so did their business. With nothing left, they were sent to live with their grandmother and James found himself having to take care of both his brother and grandmother. With the skills he obtained from his mother, he started working for other establishments whilst in school and also worked on his grandmother’s farm to put food on the table.His big opportunity:While working in a small restaurant, he was scouted by a reputable tourist restaurant in Mafinga town in Iringa. After a year of work, he landed the opportunity to go for more culinary training in the big city of Dar es Salaam. From there, he eventually got hired by the embassy of Tanzania to the United Nations and moved to New York to work as the ambassador’s personal chef. During his 7years working for the ambassador, he got to meet and serve dignitaries from all over theworld. After his service with the ambassador, he moved on to working in different restaurants in New York, in search to gain culinary experience in West Indies dishes, African American, Soul food and as well as European cuisine.His favorite Tanzanian dish is chapati (flatbread) and beef or chicken stew. A fusion cuisine he would create would be baked Tilapia with tomato sauce, served with Ugali (a corn dish popular amongst Tanzanians and all over Africa).Currently James looks contribute as a Tanzanian chef by introducing and sharing his culinary expertise in Tanzanian cuisine within New York as his late mother taught it to him.