The St. James Hotel is dishing out a new flavor with a new chef and menu.

Executive Chef Emmanuel Kimaro has been at the hotel for about five months. Before then, he worked in restaurants in different states, including North Carolina and South Carolina.

He came to Selma as a sous chef with Strand Management, which managed the St. James from July until the middle of March.

Kimaro has stayed on with the city of Selma and said St. James is an excellent place to master his craft of cooking.

“It’s a historical place,” he said. “Most people come to Selma because it’s an incredible place. St. James is a good place for tourists to stay and have something good to eat.”

The Tanzania native grew up with his mom’s great cooking, which she passed on to him.

After discovering he had a taste for cooking, Kimaro went to culinary school and picked up what his mom taught him.

However, his passion for cooking wasn’t solely based on his cooking background, but his devotion to making others feel happy.

“I like to make people happy, and most of the time if they have the right food, good drinks and service, they’ll be happy,” he said.

Kimaro also hopes patrons will enjoy the new menu he established at the hotel.

New additions include beef and grilled chicken quesadillas, Cajun and veggie burgers, grilled chicken, shrimp and fish tacos and more. Kimaro said he enjoys cooking all of the dishes on the menu, but his favorite item is garlic chicken.

The restaurant is open on weekdays from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. On Friday and Saturday, the restaurant is open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m.