Kadir Nurman was credited with inventing the doner kebab (Picture: EPA)

The man widely recognised as being the inventor of the doner kebab has died aged 80.

Berlin-based Kadir Nurman set up a stall in the western part of the city in 1972.

From the stall he sold grilled meat and salad within a flat bread after noticing busy city dwellers liked the convenience of having a meal on the go, according to the BBC.

Turkish-born Mr Nurman moved to Germany at the age of 26 where he worked as a mechanic before going into catering.


While others have been credited with the accolade of being the ‘doner kebab inventor’, including another Turkish immigrant Mahmut Aygün, Mr Nurman was recognised by the Association of Turkish Donor Manufacturers in 2011.



He is thought to have been the creator of today’s doner kebab, with its skewer of meat rotating on a spit, before being sliced off into a pitta or flat bread and topped with salad and sauce.

Mr Nurman did not patent his brainchild, which eventually enjoyed widespread success all over Germany and other parts of the world.