How much is disintegrating donair meat worth? $957.70 apparently

A Nova Scotia restaurateurhas been ordered to pay a supplier nearly $1,000after skipping out on a bill fordonairmeat because the spicedconcoction wouldn't stick togetherwhile spinning on itsroasting spit.

Jack Khourylives inShubenacadieand owns a restaurant in Saint John, N.B. He has boughtdonairmeat fromBilly Stick Food Ltd., a business based in Lake Echo, N.S., andowned by Nabil Toulany.

Toulanytold a small claims court that he buys frozen boneless meat, shreds and minces it while still frozen, adds spices and then moulds it into cones. The cones are familiar sights indonairrestaurants throughout the Maritimes, turning slowly on a vertical rod while they roast.

The court heard that in this case, the wholesale cost of each cone is $68 and thatKhoury'srestaurant can go through as many as 20 cones in a week. The court estimated that translates into hundreds ofdonairsevery week.

Khourycomplained thatToulany'scones would break apart while roasting and the meat would fall off, forcing workers to roast it in a pan instead of on the spit.

'Not ideal'

"This is not ideal, as it is the rotisserie-style roasting that is the signature feature ofdonairs," adjudicator EricSlonenoted in his decision.

"Also, it involves extra work for staff, who have to roast and slice the meat in a way that is not intended."

Toulanycountered that other customers didn't complain about his cones.Slonesaid he accepted thatKhouryhad trouble with some of the cones, but not enough to justify not paying the bill.

"I believe that he was frustrated and simply chose not to pay this amount. There is no evidence that any of the food was thrown away, just that some of it didn't hold together properly."

In his decision,Slonesplit thedifference, awarding Toulany $957.70 half of what he was asking for.