It was a coincidence when the inventor of “Doner Kebap” Kadir Nurman died last month in October at the age of 80, while I was visiting Berlin. The city which was famous for its wall dividing east from west became the first city in Europe in 1972 to sell grilled meat and salad in wrapped flatbread (pide), which is now popular worldwide. Doner was one of the famous, affordable and nutritional snack in Berlin while I was living there, as it is today.
Kadir Nurman was born in Antalya, Turkey and was raised in Istanbul is one of the thousands of Turkish immigrants from Turkey who in 1960, went to Germany to find work at the age of 26. It is ironic that the year Nurman immigrated to Germany is actually the year the history of migration of Turks to Germany began. Today the fourth generation of Turks, now over 2 million Turks and their decedents living in Germany, are the biggest in Europe.
Nurman started selling his first “Doner Kebab” just opposite Bahnhof Zoo in West Berlin, an area which was the heart of the city. Since then doner has become a German fast-food favourite but nowhere as quite as good quality as in Berlin. Some people might dispute that, but the city which is the birth place of doner still has the best doner in Europe, judging from my own experience as someone who has eaten doner in many different places across other European cities.
According to German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel the importance of Nurman’s invention is indisputable which contributes greatly to the German economy, providing jobs which generate an annual turnover of €3.5 billion for German producers, food outlets and restaurateurs.
According to the Berlin-based ‘Association of Turkish Doner Manufacturers’ in Europe, there are now 600 tonnes of doner meat cooked every day in Germany and there are 16,000 doner outlets in Germany. 80% of the EU doner market gets its the supply of doner meat from German companies specialising in the meat and in the machinery for grilling.
The Association of Turkish Doner Manufacturers recognised the contribution Mr Nurman made to the food sector in 2011. But as Mr Nurman did not patent his invention, he did not profit from his invention.
He expressed his small sadness about this in an interview with the Frankfurter Rundschau in 2011. But he concluded that he was very happy that millions of people were eating doner and many Turkish people were making their living from it.
Doner became one of the best fast food snacks and for some as the feast for midnight. With his invention, busy Berliners have been able to purchase a meal that they can eat on the go since the seventies.
As food is part of Turkish culture, Turkish culture is a tool for people to come together, to socialise and enjoy being together more than in many other cultures. Therefore the doner has played a great part in bringing Germans and Turks together. In fact it has played a role in the multiculturalism process not only in the city but in the whole of Germany. It has created a place where not only Germans and Turkish-Germans have been coming together but also other nationalities, too. Numan’s influence on the German society as part of his Turkish culture, should not be forgotten, and should be remembered in the coming years.
Most importantly with the story highlighted by Mr. Nurman’s contribution, the socio-economic and cultural impact of Turks in Germany and in Europe should be credited and the positive influence of the Turks in Europe, acknowledged.
The question “Should Turkey be part of Europe and enter EU?” loses its meaning as Turks over the centuries are in Europe and once again as in Mr. Nurman’s case, the influence of Turkish food has already changed European daily culinary habits.
Copyright Semra Eren Nijhar – All rights reserved
Semra Eren-Nijhar 