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.

Invention and spread
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 1800 kcal in a large serving.

Kapsalon is a standard menu item in Belgian döner restaurants, both in Flanders and Wallonia. Various Turkish restaurants throughout Germany serve the dish, especially in larger cities. The dish can be found in other cities throughout Europe as well, most Polish towns and cities (including Warsaw, Poznan and Kraków), in Prague, Czech Republic, cities in Latvia (including Riga, Jelgava, Jūrmala, Sigulda) in Oulu, Finland. It has been found in Morocco and Cardiff in Wales as well.

The kapsalon reached the Nepalese capital city of Kathmandu in 2017, when a chef returning from a visit to the Netherlands was asked to prepare a "typically Dutch" meal. Now chicken or fish replace the shawarma meat, and a porcelain plate substitutes for the metal tray, but the kapsalon has become fashionable, with many people posting photos and a prominent food blogger describing the dish as "a party in her mouth with her favorite tastes". In Vientiane, Laos, similar adaptations of the kapsalon have emerged, featuring alternatives such as tuna and beef to accommodate local culinary preferences.