Halifax donair royalty heading west

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This article was published 01/06/2018 (2971 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

King of Donair (KOD) is expanding to Western Canada — and a Winnipeg location is in the works.

The donair, a pita filled with spicy beef, tomatoes and onions and topped with a sweet sauce, is the official food of Halifax.

The dish was created in 1973 by the original owner of KOD, a franchise that has since expanded across the Maritimes and, as of last week, to Edmonton.

“Everyone that has it, they love it. They all come back for more, and that’s kind of how the word of King of Donair has spread over the years,” KOD president Norman Nahas said.

“For someone who’s never had one, it’s quite the experience. You have the sweetness of the sauce and spices of the meat and they contrast but yet, at the same time, they work together so well.”

Condensed milk and sugar are two ingredients of the “semi-secret recipe” for sweet sauce, also known as donair sauce.

KOD plans to expand to Regina, Calgary and Vancouver too, Nahas said, adding the company has “boots on the ground” in the Prairies at present.

He said they’re connecting with potential franchisees and looking at potential locations.

The expansion is due to high demand from Maritimers who’ve moved away and people who’ve tried their donairs while travelling, Nahas said.

“We’re a bit of a university town in Halifax, and the students come here to get educated, and they go back home and they can’t replicate that taste. There’s nowhere that has that same combination. Out west, people use a tzatziki sauce or hot sauce.

“Plus, there’s nowhere that does it the same way here, the way a donair’s intended to be.”

They also sell donair-themed egg rolls, pizza, poutine and chicken wings.

Alyssa Hurd moved to Winnipeg from Halifax four years ago. Born and raised in the Maritimes, she said she was very excited to hear KOD plans to open a Winnipeg location.

“It’s one of those things that I definitely miss about home.

“The first time that I had a donair here, it was extremely disappointing. It was more of a gyro.”

When she or any of her family members visit Halifax, they make a stop to KOD to pick up donairs for the rest of the family.

“The deal is, whoever goes back, they bring one with them back. We just get the sauce on the side and then put the donair in lots of plastic baggies.”

Hurd said she hopes they open soon. In the meantime, her mom’s headed back to Halifax at the end of the month so she said she’ll have something to tide her over until then.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @macintoshmaggie