'Kebab king' dies aged 87

London, Jan 20 (ANI): The man who invented the doner kebab has died of cancer at the age of 87.

Known as the 'kebab king', Mahmut Aygun passed away in Berlin.

He invented the doner kebab nearly 40 years ago, reports the Telegraph.

The chef was born in Turkey but later moved to Germany at the age of 16 in the hope of one day opening his own restaurant.

He was serving customers at a snack stall when it dawned on him that kebab meat - a mix of roasted lamb and spices traditionally eaten with rice - could be served differently.

Kebab meat had traditionally been served with rice but in a moment of inspiration 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.

Aygun once said: "I thought how much easier it would be if they could take their food with them."

So, on March 2, 1971, his Berlin restaurant 'Hasir' became the first eaterie to serve meat in pitta bread.

The name doner kebab soon followed, derived from the Turkish word 'dondurmek', meaning to rotate.

However, Aygun's services to the takeaway industry did not stop there. He is also credited with inventing the yoghurt sauce, which became the doner's hallmark. (ANI)