http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddr…-has-died.html
The man who invented the doner kebab has died
Known as the ‘kebab king’ Mahmut Aygun invented the doner kebab nearly 40 years ago. Photo: ANTHONY BLAKE
Mahmut Aygun, was suffering from cancer and died in Berlin at the age of 87.
Known as the “kebab king” he was born in Turkey and moved to Germany at the age of 16 to open a snack stall. He invented the doner kebab nearly 40 years ago.
Kebab meat, consisiting of roast lamb and spices, had traditionally been served with rice but in a moment of inspiration Mr Aygun saw that the future lay in putting the meat inside a pitta bread.
That allowed customers who had been drinking to wander off into the night with their food and eat it as they stumbled home.
Mr Aygun once said: “I thought how much easier it would be if they could take their food with them.”
The first of the new snacks was served on March 2, 1971, at Hasir, his restaurant in Berlin.
It was called a doner kebab after the Turkish word “dondurmek” which means a rotating roast.
Mr Aygun went on to invent the yoghurt sauce often served with a doner kebab.
The subsequent popularisiation of the doner kebab in the UK led to many traditional fish and chip shops going bust.
In Berlin his death was greeted with sadness and one headline read: “Thanks, Mahmut!”
Posted on Wed, 21 January 2009 at 10:29
