The dish was conceived in 2003 by Nataniël 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 in a large serving. in
Oulu, Finland, and in
Brașov, Romania. 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. The Nepalese adaptation of kapsalon is served on a porcelain plate rather than a metal tray, and has a chicken or fish base in place of shawarma meat; it has become a fashionable dish, with many people posting photos and a prominent food blogger describing it 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. Frietje kapsalon.jpg|People sharing a kapsalon Shoarmazaak El-Aviva Schiedamseweg-22A Rotterdam Delfshaven.jpg|El-Aviva, where the kapsalon was created ==See also==