Creator of doner kebab dies in Berlin aged 80

KADIR Nurman, the Turkish immigrant credited with creating the doner kebab, has died in Germany at the age of 80.

Doner kebabs have become a popular snack. Picture: Complimentary

Nurman, who emigrated to Germany in 1960, set up a stall in West Berlin in 1972, selling grilled meat and salad inside a flat bread.

He created the snack after noticing the fast-paced city life in Berlin and thought city residents might want a meal they could take with them on the go.

His invention was recognised by the Association of Turkish Doner Manufacturers in 2011, although there are believed to be other possible ‘inventors’.

The fast-food favourite combines meat sliced from a rotating skewer, with all the trimmings and optional chilli sauce.

According to the Association of Turkish Doner Manufacturers, which is based in Berlin, there are now over 16,000 doner outlets in Germany, with more than 1,000 in the German capital itself.

Nurman never patented his creation, and did not make much of a profit from the doner’s success, but in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau in 2011, he insisted that he was happy so many Turkish people were able to forge a living from selling doner kebabs, and that he was happy millions of people ate them.