When it Comes to Kebab, Size Does Matter

Yigal Schleifer

Kebabs on the grill in Istanbul

Turks are an entrepreneurial nation. Take the example of Murat Aksu, a Turkish businessman living in Washington, DC. Realizing that the Guinness Book of World Records doesn't contain the record for longest kebab, Aksu decided to go ahead and create the category in honor of a Turkish culture festival recently held in Washington. Of course, since no record existed previously, Aksu could have entered the Guinness with a kebab of any length. But instead he decided to go full tilt and create a kebab that was measured at almost 18.5 feet (5.76 meters) and cost some $4,000 to make.

“We thought someone must have made the longest shish kebab,
or döner, but we could not find such an entry in the book. There are records
broken by Turks in such fields as karate and tae kwon do. We first thought
about making the biggest yoghurt or coffee and finally decided on the shish
kebab, to promote Turkish food,” Aksu said at the event.More details here and here.Meanwhile, they may not be listed in the Guinness Book, but the chefs over at Akdeniz Hatay Sofrasi, an excellent Istanbul restaurant serving the food of Turkey's Hatay region, have long been making their trademark "meter long" kebab. Review here.