Kapsalon is the Dutch dish that layers fries, döner meat, Gouda, lettuce, garlic sauce, and sambal.
The dish was created in Rotterdam in 2003 by Nataniël Gomes, a Cape Verdean hairdresser in the Delfshaven district. He asked a nearby shawarma shop, El Aviva, to combine his favorite ingredients in a disposable metal tray. His regular order became known as “the usual order for the kapsalon,” after his hairdressing salon.
The usual assembly puts fries on the bottom, followed by döner meat and Gouda. The tray is heated until the cheese melts, then topped with shredded iceberg lettuce, garlic sauce, and sambal. Despite its Dutch name, the dish combines influences associated with Turkish, Dutch, and Indonesian food cultures. A common mix-up is treating it as simply loaded fries: the melted Gouda, fresh lettuce, garlic sauce, and sambal are characteristic parts of the classic combination. Kapsalon later spread beyond the Netherlands, including to Belgium and other European countries.