The man who invented the doner 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. Or drop them. Or forget about them and find them in their coat pockets the following week. Or leave it in a taxi.
Mr Aygun once said: “I thought how much easier it would be if they could take their food with
Mr Aygun went on to invent the yoghurt sauce often served with a doner kebab and publish the first Collins Drunken English Bigot to English Dictionary.
In Berlin his death was greeted with sadness and one headline read: “Thanks, Mahmut!”
