Taking part in A-sham, the first Arab food festival in Israel, were 25 chefs, Jews and Arabs, from all over the country. They joined together to create Arabic delicacies, such as hilbe (fenugreek seeds), habisa (a black-and-white pudding sweetened with carob juice) or haroumanieh (green lentils cooked with eggplant in pomegranate juice).

The food festival was launched during the Holiday of Holidays in the northern city of Haifa, and is the brainchild of the Arab Israeli chef, microbiologist, and mother of three Nof Atamna-Ismaeel, winner of the 2014 Israeli MasterChef. Atamna-Ismaeel enjoys cooking Arab food with a modern twist.