Today we study the unique rise of a Mediterranean classic to dominate the street food scene in a most unlikely locale: Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Halifax Donair is, in fact, the city’s Official Food! And it’s on just about every list of classic Canadian Foods!
The classic Halifax Donair: Official Food of Halifax, Nova Scotia…
The Greek Connection…
It’s well documented that the Halifax Donair (HD) was first invented by Greek immigrant Peter Gamoulakos at his Halifax restaurant sometime in the 1970s. The exact date doesn’t matter. But the timetable is interesting. Gamoulakis started off featuring Greek Gyros (a pita pocket stuffed with grilled lamb and tzatziki). Which made perfect sense. To him.
But as he’s told local food historians, the Gyros didn’t appeal so much to the ‘meat and potatoes’ Halifax palate. He quickly figured out that the lamb was the problem. With a touch of the kind of in-spiration geniuses are known for, Gamoulakos switched up his menu to something similar, from the same general pert of the world. All he had to do was switch out the lamb in favour of beef. And come up with a complementary signature ‘Donair Sauce’.
Thus was born the now-legendary Halifax Donair.
A true sensation
The HD can ruly be called an overnight sensation. Pizza fans recall the saucy wrap becoming the re-gion’s preferred take-out dish – even more popular than pizza.
“Today, almost every pizza place in the province sells the sloppy and sumptuous late-night eat, some even selling more donairs than pies,” reports Flavournetwork.ca contributor Lisa Jackson. “Every East Coaster has a favourite spot, but The King of Donair and Tony’s Donair have long been local favour-ites. Both spots have been serving the snack since the 1970s.
Perhaps curiously, the HD is most popular – generating long lineups – with late-night diners.
“It’s spicy, eaten normally at midnight,” says Alain Bossé, a top chef from Pictou, Nova Scotia and ambassador of all things culinary in Atlantic Canada. “After a long night out, you line up at a pizza corner in Halifax. It’s a great hangover food!”
Secret’s in the sauce…
But it’s not really so secret. As Bossé explains, it’s a simple, creamy swavoury concoction made with just three ingredients: sweetened condensed milk, vinegar and garlic powder.
Bossé adds, “The sauce is what makes a difference between a donair and a gyro.” And makes the Halifax Donair unique.
The sauce is so popular, all on its own, that it’s being cloned and used by other Fast Food joints on every-thing. And you can even get Donair Pizzas at just about every Nova Scotia pie outlet.
Make your own?
Nothing you can make at home can exactly replicate the original Halifax Donair. First of all, you’d need a vertical-spit roaster. Even then, you’d still need the formula for Gamoulakos’ spice mix, used on the beef. But you could probably get very close with the sauce, playing with successive approx-imations of the ingredient proportions….
But it would definitely be fun trying!
Hint: You can now get pre-spiced, pre-cooked ‘Donair Meat’ at some supermarkets and most Medi-terranean grocery stores…
My take
The Halifax Donair is just one example of how ‘foods from away’ have come to Canada with new arrivals. And become cornerstones of what the sociologists call our cultural ‘mosaic’.
There are many more such dishes – which Canada has made her own, and sewn into our national ‘crazy quilt’ of culinary legends…
~ Maggie J.