Kapsalon

Kapsalon is a fast food dish created in 2003 by Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands. Consisting of a layer of french fries placed into a disposable metal take-away tray, topped with döner or gyro meat, covered with slices of Gouda cheese, and heated in an oven until the cheese melts. Then a layer of shredded iceberg lettuce is added, dressed with garlic sauce and sambal, a hot sauce from Indonesia, a former Dutch colony. The term kapsalon is Dutch for "hairdressing salon" or barber shop, alluding to the inventor's place of work. The dish is a product of Dutch multiculturalism, combining elements of dishes from multiple cultures. The dish has spread internationally in a relatively short time. The dish was conceived in 2003 by Nathaniël Gomes, who was a Cape Verdean hairdresser in the Rotterdam district of Delfshaven, who one day at the neighboring shawarma store "El Aviva" asked to combine all his favorite ingredients into one dish. He began to regularly request what the restaurant called "the usual order for the kapsalon". Other customers noticed and started to order the kapsalon too, and it became a hit, soon being demanded in nearby snack bars. Gomes reached a measure of international popularity; he died in 2023, aged 47. The dish has since spread around the Netherlands and into Belgium, and several other countries in at least three continents. In some places the shawarma meat may be replaced with chicken, or doner kebab meat. The kapsalon has been described as "a typical example of contemporary cultural heritage", and "representative of the transnational nature of the city". It has also been described as a "calorie bomb" and "culinary lethal weapon", with high fat content and up to 1,800 kilocalories (7,500 kJ) in a large serving.

Source: Wikipedia