Linda Mosher is a Halifax city councillor. She introduced a motion a few weeks ago calling for the donair to be recognized as Halifax’s official food.  Council voted 12-4 to consider it and Mosher declared “it will soon and forevermore be to Halifax what the Philly Cheesesteak is to Philadelphia.” Or the poutine is to Quebec. Or smoked meat is to Montreal.

“The donair is an icon,” said Mosher. “People come here and they are going to try lobster, certainly, but lobster is everywhere, it is all over the world; and it is a fabulous food, but it wasn’t invented here.”

Greek immigrant Peter Gamoulakos came to Canada in 1959. His attempt to tempt the Halifax market with gyros was unsuccessful.  It is said that he made some changes to the Greek recipe, replacing the lamb with beef and sweetening the sauce.  He served up his first donair at Velos, a restaurant in Bedford, N.S and then opened King of Donair, on Quinpool Road in 1973.

Donair is meat cooked on a tall vertical rotisserie, in the shape of an inverted cone, which turns slowly in front of a broiler.  The meat is cut in shavings, tucked in an oiled, grilled piece of pita and typically rolled up with tomatoes, onions, pickled cucumbers and chili.

The popularity of this dish is fuelled by young adults who end their nights out with a donair.  It is delivered to university residences with the same frequency that pizza is delivered in other cities.