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SociétéI^ Cuisine^ I^ EUROPE^ I^ ^ A2-B
DONER KEBAB
FRENZY
Europe's conflicting emotions over
the doner kebab (frenzy hysterical excitement)
It is impossible nowadays not to have a kebab shop or
restaurant of some sort nearby. Since the 1990s this
sandwich, originally from Turkey, filled with meat grilled
on a stick, conquered Europe... but not without
controversy.
H
as the doner kebab become a political
issue in Europe? While the idea might
seem humorous, this is a serious question. A long-
side the hamburger, the doner kebab is one of
France’s most popular fast-food dishes. It has also
attracted unexpected attention and controversy,
and raised previously unexplored cultural issues. - In December 2017 the health
committee of the European
Parliament voted to ban phos-
phate additives used in frozen
kebab meat. This was sup-
posed to be a simple adminis-
trative adjustment for public-
health reasons, but the decision
sparked an outcry and the is-
sue became an unlikely politi-
cal football.
THE INDEPENDENT PIERRE RAFFARD
2 million
In Germany, 2 million doner kebab
were eaten daily in 2017.SAVING THE DONER KEBAB
- German European deputy Renate Sommer
(CDU) took the first shot, asserting on her Face-
book page that the decision would penalise
owners of small restaurants and possibly lead to
the loss of thousands of jobs. The story grew and
was soon taken up by European media: Bild re-
peated Ms. Sommer’s con-
cerns, and The Guardian, La
Repubblica and El País quick-
ly followed suit.
4. Due to the uproar, two
weeks later the European par-
liament used an upcoming
evaluation by the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
as an excuse to postpone the
decision. While it might seem like a tempest in
a teacup, the incident isn’t as minor as it might
appear at the outset. The wave of reactions, rang-
ing from despair and outrage to amusement and
delight, demonstrated that behind the doner
kebab’s modest façade, it is in fact a symbol of
the social, political and identity issues facing
European societies today. A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP
- The European story of the doner kebab is first
and foremost one of the astounding success of a
dish that, against all odds, became both the la-
bourer’s meal of choice and the quintessential
midnight snack. The doner kebab arrived in Eu-
rope in the mid-1930s, when a handful of Greek
and Armenian restaurant owners, exiled from
Anatolia years earlier, decided to add it to their
menus. At that time it was an unassuming dish
known only to immigrants, who saw it as a cheap
meal that also allowed them to preserve a sym-
bolic link with their home countries. - Also known as the döner kebap, the dish and
others like it spread across the world, where goes - issue problem, subject / humorous funny, amusing /
alongside together with / dish plate of food / to attract
to captivate, here, to arouse, to create / unexpected
unforeseen, unanticipated / controversy contestation,
conflict / to raise to bring up for discussion / previously
before, in the past, until now. - to ban to prohibit, to forbid / phosphate additive
chemical substance added to food for colouring or
preservation / frozen (to freeze, froze, frozen)
preserved by storing at a very cold temperature / meat
edible flesh of animals / adjustment modification,
change / to spark to provoke / outcry protest, indignation
/ unlikely improbable / political football non-political
subject which political parties try to use to their advantage. - CDU = Chrislich-Demokratische Union Christian
Democratic Union / to take, took, taken a shot at sbdy
to try first / to assert to affirm, to declare / owner
proprietor / loss disappearance / to, grow, grew, grown
to become bigger / to take, took, taken up to engage the
interest of / to repeat to reiterate / concern worry,
anxiety / to follow suit to do the same. - uproar outrage / upcoming imminent / EFSA EU
agency in charge of food hygiene and safety / a tempest
in a teacup exaggerated reaction to sth trivial / at the
outset at the beginning, at first / wave here, sudden large
number /
despair complete absence of hope / outrage indignation
/ delight joy, pleasure / to demonstrate to show / to
face to confront.- first and foremost above all / astounding
extraordinary / against all odds despite all the problems
and low probability / labourer manual worker / meal
food / quintessential perfect / snack collation /
handful a few / unassuming unpretentious, modest. - to spread, spread, spread across to travel across /
to go, went gone by the name to be known by the
name of /
SUPPLÉMENT VIDÉO
En décembre 2017, les députés européens autorisaient l’utilisation
d’additifs phosphatés dans les viandes en broche congelées – une
victoire pour l’industrie du kebab. Découvrez le reportage vidéo et testez
votre compréhension sur http://www.vocable.fr/videos-anglaisA doner kebab. (Istock)Has the doner
kebab become
a political
issue in
Europe?
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