Plate of Nations is the brainchild of Asari Mohamath, a Cham Muslim refugee from Vietnam and former owner of Salima restaurant, who wanted to develop a unified marketing event to highlight the unique and authentic cuisines offered by MLK restaurants. Julie Pham, former MLKBA Board Chair, said, “We were brainstorming new ideas for promoting the business district and everyone got excited about a food event, because food brings people together.”