The story
Meat roasted on a vertical spit was known in Ottoman Turkey by the mid-1800s, with Bursa usually named as its birthplace. The fast-food sandwich is a German story. Kadir Nurman, a Turkish guest worker from Istanbul, is widely credited with opening a snack stand at West Berlin's Zoo Station in 1972, selling sliced meat with onion and a little salad in flatbread for busy workers. Others got there first or claim to: Nevzat Salim says he sold döner in Reutlingen from 1969, and another Berliner claims 1971. Nurman never said he was first, only that the kebab became famous through him. Berlin's version, piled with salad and sauces, conquered Europe.
Rival claims
Earliest claim is Reutlingen (Nevzat Salim, 1969); vertical spit-roasting itself comes from Bursa, Turkey. Kadir Nurman at West Berlin's Zoo Station (1972) is most often credited with the sandwich.
Also known as döner, doner kebab, kebab, Dönerkebab, döner kebap.
On the Meridish menu
Döner kebab was the street food course on menu No. 20 on October 20, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Spit-roasted meat stuffed into flatbread with salad and sauces. A guest worker's snack stand by a railway station here made it famous in 1972, though rivals claim it.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doner_kebab
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kadir_Nurman
- thelocal.de/20200814/the-history-of-the-dner-kebab
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
