Döner Kebab

Döner kebab is seasoned meat roasted on a vertical spit and shaved into thin slices to order. Döner means "turning" in Turkish. The dish is Turkish in origin, but the döner in bread as a fast, handheld meal was popularised in Germany in the 1970s and is now one of the country's most-eaten street foods.

What it actually is

Thin layers of marinated meat — commonly veal, chicken or lamb — are stacked into a cone on a tall rotisserie. As the stack turns against a heat source, the outside roasts and is shaved off in thin, crisp slices.

How it's served

• In bread — the classic: a folded flatbread pocket with meat, salad, onion and sauce.
• Dürüm — rolled in a thin yufka wrap.
• On a plate — with rice or fries and salad.

Garlic, herb and chilli sauces are the usual accompaniments.

Related, not the same: gyros and shawarma are also meat shaved from a spit, but they are separate dishes, not other names for döner. The sandwich-style döner spread in Germany in the 1970s; who exactly invented it is not certain. The meat can be beef, veal, lamb, chicken or a mix, and a portion uses one kind of bread (flatbread or pide-style), not both. Allergens: the classic sandwich with yogurt sauce contains wheat (bread) and milk (yogurt sauce). Sesame bread adds sesame, mayonnaise-based sauces add eggs and mustard sauces add mustard. Not every döner contains milk.

Writing it on a menu

• State the meat (veal, chicken, lamb or mixed) and whether it is halal.
• Make the format explicit: bread, dürüm wrap, or plate.
• List the sauces and let guests choose — it's the detail people care about most.