In Praise of Mahmut Aygun

Thursday, 22nd January 2009

How did I miss this tragic news?

The man who invented the donor [sic!] kebab has died.

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.

Patrick McGoohan, Tony Hart, John Mortimer... And now this. What a year it's been.

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ben

January 23rd, 2009 12:05am Report this comment

There are probably religious wars over the precise distinctions between "Doner kebab", "shawarma", and "gyros", but in this part of the world the folk memory of the Donner Party means the first term is avoided. Unless that's really the meat you want in your pita.

ndm

January 23rd, 2009 12:45am Report this comment

I'm surprised he hadn't already died of food poisoning.

And speaking of poison, I saw that the latest headline on Melanie Phillips' blog - "The Telegraph becomes an ISM mouthpiece" - suggests even the Telegraph is too left wing for her.

Anthony

January 23rd, 2009 1:06am Report this comment

I'm still getting over the loss of Patrick McGoohan. I've been less upset over lost relatives. Seriously.

Ah, doner meat. With chips. And "garlic" sauce. The great thing about it is the way that buying a serving while stumbling home from the pub is simultaneously the best and the worst idea ever. Somehow.

cuffleyburgers

January 23rd, 2009 1:08pm Report this comment

I remember once in my glory days in Barcelona, eating an entire Doner Kabab in one mouthfull - in the immortal words of Rab C Nesbitt - "ah'v always been a fat bastard"

Alf Tupper

January 23rd, 2009 4:47pm Report this comment

'donor kebab'?

D'yer d'liver?

Chris

January 25th, 2009 10:12am Report this comment

Well, if anti-semitism is left wing, ndm - ah! that explains the 'Socialist' bit in 'National Socialist'; I've often wondered -then I guess that in that context and to that extent, the Telegraph is left wing. These days, anti-semitism is not so much the socialism of fools as yet another foolishness of socialists.

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