This performance is embarrassing! Popularly known as “Salt Bae”, star chef Nusret Gökçe (39) is not a man who likes to be in the background. Taking the field after the World Cup final on Sunday, the Turk then puts pressure on the world champion heroes from Argentina. He bites a gold medalist, kisses a World Cup trophy, and teases Lionel Messi, 35, at the best moment of his career, until the superstar is persuaded to take a selfie.
Salt Bae is a phenomenon. The restaurateur operates 22 restaurants around the world – all gold mines. Not just because there are gold steaks covered in 24-carat gold leaf on the menu. But also because Salt Bae charges astronomical prices for their food.
The price of a golden steak is 1200 francs. Stars like Leonardo DiCaprio (48), Naomi Campell (52) and Roger Federer (41) are said to have dined with him. The fact that the golden steak wasn’t as tasty as Nati forward Noah Okafor (22) had to admit after a visit seems to be of secondary importance.
He left school in the sixth grade
He made the Turkish breakthrough six years ago. In early 2017, she shared a video on social media showing her seasoning a steak. Arm at 45 degrees, hand bent towards bird’s beak, fingers pointing over the elbow towards the meat. It became a trademark of Salt Bae. Suddenly everyone wanted to dine with the extravagant restaurateur. And the hype never died. The value of Nusret Gökçe is 50-70 million francs today.
In fact, Salt Bae’s career looks like something straight out of a picture book: The son of Kurdish parents, he grew up in poor Eastern Anatolia. He left school in the sixth grade and moved to Istanbul to study butchery. At first he didn’t have a penny in his pocket. In 2010, he successfully opened the first restaurant in Istanbul. More added, including Dubai, London and Las Vegas.
160,000 francs in one evening
With its viral hit in early 2017, success seemed to take its toll. Salt Bae was losing traction. Some adore the chef who travels the world in a private jet with his staff. Others think it’s a joke. But the rich and beautiful have remained loyal to Salt Bae to this day – she regularly posts selfies with Hollywood stars and sports greats on her Instagram profile.
However, a post in November of this year took a major storm of shit: the noble butcher boasted a bill from his restaurant that was 160,000 Swiss francs. The 26,500 comments under Salt Bae’s crumbling post show the true size. “With this amount you could save an entire village from death. This is terrible,” one user wrote.
Salt Bae doesn’t seem bothered by these comments any more than the media exaggeration surrounding her after the World Cup final. Instead, he posts more pictures and videos on social networks. Bow your head and dive down – that’s not Gökçe’s motto. He knows that Salt Bae will only succeed as long as he keeps talking.