A Tribute to Kebabs

Try and name a couple of staple food after a heavy-drinking session… Go ahead… Thought of some? It’s probably a pretty good bet that kebabs make your list.
Kebabs are well integrated into the English drinking culture and I was surprised to find out that the same is true here in Germany. I found myself learning more about it just last week after the news that Kadir Nurman, the man credited with inventing the doner kebab, had passed away at the age of 80.
He emigrated to Germany from Turkey in 1960 and set up a little kebab stand in West Berlin in 1972. The mix of grilled meat and salad in flat bread was a huge hit and kebab’s soon took their hold on the country and the rest of the world.
The BBC reported that there is a European Association of Turkish Doner Manufactures based in Berlin and they estimate that there are around 16,000 doner kebab shops across Germany, with over 1,000 of those in Berlin alone.
Taking a walk around our area of Neukölln, with it’s large Turkish community, it seems almost like every second shop has a kebab sizzling away on a skewer so this number is definitely no surprise. What did surprise me however, was that most of the takeaways have a queue snaking outside of the shop door at any time of day and night.They are definitely not just for soaking up alcohol late at night and I believe that is a true testament to how popular Nurman’s delicious invention became.
I genuinely had no idea that the idea of kebabs was so recent but I am glad that this devilishly unhealthy-yet-yummy snack is a part of both English and German cultures. Thanks to you Kadir Nurman, and thanks to all the people that offer his tasty treat around the world in their attempts to fatten me up!