Dinner Series Highlights Immigrant Chefs
In seventh year, Tables Across Borders features Burmese, Syrian, Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine.
Dishes at a Tables Across Borders dinner featuring Burmese cuisine. Photo taken April 28, 2026, by Sophie Bolich.
Amilinda, typically closed on Tuesdays, hosted 16 diners for a family-style meal this week. Couples caught up and strangers formed friendships over heaping platters of noodles, salad and chicken quarters topped with crisp, raw onions and cilantro — Burmese dishes prepared by Chef Abdul and his wife, Zinath.
For safety and privacy reasons, they requested that their full names not be used.
The couple, parents of five children who came to the United States from Myanmar in 2015, have become regulars at Tables Across Borders, an annual dinner series that spotlights refugee and immigrant chefs. The program gives participants free rein of a restaurant kitchen and a platform to share food, stories and culture from their home countries.
Now in its seventh year, Tables Across Borders will take place in four installments: two in Amilinda’s homey downtown dining room, 315 E. Wisconsin Ave., and two at Tricklebee Cafe, 4424 W. North Ave.
“For us, it’s so important to do these because it’s a good way to connect the general public with people who are refugees or asylum seekers,” said Amilinda owner Gregory León.
León said ticket sales for the latest round of dinners are low, citing potential factors including political tensions and price increases tied to rising food costs. Though emptier than usual, the dining room at Amilinda filled with happy chatter as guests filtered in, sipping wine and cocktails as they waited for their turn in the buffet line.
Kathy Nusslock, a repeat attendee, said the diversity of the cuisine is what keeps her coming back. “I like the experimenting, or seeing what the different foods are from the different countries,” she said. “And I like supporting chefs that are starting out.”
Abdul’s dinner was the first for 2026, and featured dishes inspired by his grandmother’s recipes. “I make this food every day so that my children remember their culture,” he said. “I love to cook. I’m very proud.”
The chef is well-versed in a variety of global cuisines, skills he acquired while working in a fine dining hotel restaurant in Malaysia. Still, he said his favorite cuisine to cook is South Asian. He’s been featured three times through Tables Across Borders, and dreams of one day opening his own restaurant.
Tuesday’s meal featured biryani rice with toasted cashews, dried fruit and herbs; roast chicken; basmati rice; chopped vegetable salad; Burmese noodle salad; and keema, an aromatic minced beef and potato curry. Dessert included fresh fruit, coconut sooji and sweet vermicelli pudding.
Kim Khaira attended the event on behalf of Lynden Sculpture Garden, one of the program’s sponsors, alongside UWM Cultures and Communities and Hanan Refugee Relief.
“Real fine dining, for me, is home-cooked food,” said Khaira, an immigrant from Malaysia. “It’s kind of cheesy to say that the most important ingredient is love, but I think in the spirit of our times, the zeitgeist of today, that’s what we need. We need kindness, we need giving.”
Upcoming dinners will take place May 5, featuring Syrian cuisine from Chef Tahani Ghaziyah; May 21 with Ethiopian cuisine from Chef Elfenesh; and May 28 with Eritrean cuisine from Chef Hailat.
For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the event webpage. Tickets are priced at $85 per person, with proceeds supporting participating families and the Tables Across Borders mission.
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