The donair – a pita sandwich stuffed with beef, tomatoes, onions and sweet sauce – is hugely popular in Canada, and one of the best places to have it is at Nimrods’ Floating Pizza Bar in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Nimrods’ owner Jesse Clausheide's version is considered by many to be the finest iteration of donair pizza. This might be due to scarcity – you can only order it during the tourist season, from Mother’s Day to Labor Day – at his tiny pizzeria located in the country’s smallest province.

Ironically, as journalist, former line cook and one-time pizzaiola Ivy Knight (@ivyporkchopknight) discovered, Jesse didn’t taste a donair until he was in his 20s. 

“I was working as a delivery driver for Famous Peppers Pizza in Montague. They put donair pizza on the menu and I tasted it.” His take? “Odd, but delicious.” 

The donair wasn't invented until the 1970s when Greek brothers Peter and John Gamoulakos opened Velos Pizza in Bedford, Nova Scotia. To appeal to Canadians, Peter created a version of a Greek gyro – vertical spit-roasted meat served in a pita with tomatoes, onions and tzatziki, a yogurt sauce – but with beef drizzled in a condensed milk sauce. To say it caught on is an understatement: in 2015, the donair became the official food of Halifax. 

After trying and loving donair, Jesse went on to make his first pizzas on his college roommate’s Ooni oven, which led to him catering his roommate’s wedding with said oven. From there, the love for pizza and donair only grew stronger; now, Nimrods’ is set to open up a third location. 

Here, Jesse shares his recipe for donair meat that uses a mix of beef and lamb, but you can also stay true to the original version with all beef. The end result is essentially a meatloaf that you can crumble onto a donair pizza. It freezes beautifully, so you have a ready supply of donair meat whenever the craving strikes, plus plenty of sauce for drizzling and dipping. 

Want to learn more about the history of the donair? Check out Ivy’s essay here.