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Salt Bae

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Salt Bae
Salt Bae in 2018
Born
Nusret Gökçe

1983 (age 40–41)
Paşalı [tr], Erzurum, Turkey
OccupationRestaurateur
Known forInternet meme, luxury steak houses
Culinary career
Cooking styleTurkish
Current restaurant(s)
  • Nusr-Et
Websitewww.nusr-et.com.tr

Nusret Gökçe (Turkish: [nusˈɾet ɟœcˈtʃe]; born 1983), better known as Salt Bae, is a Turkish butcher, chef, and restaurateur. Gökçe's technique for preparing and seasoning meat became an internet meme in January 2017. He founded Nusr-Et, a chain of luxury steak houses.[1] As of 2021, Nusr-Et has branches in Turkey, Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. The name of the restaurant chain comes from his own name and et, which means "meat" in Turkish.

Early life

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Nusret Gökçe was born in Paşalı [tr],[2] a village in Şenkaya district of Erzurum Province, to a Kurdish family.[3][4] His father, Faik, was a mineworker. The family's finances forced him to leave school in the sixth grade (aged 11–12) to work as a butcher's apprentice in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul.[5]

Career

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A clip from the viral video

Gökçe visited several countries, including Argentina and the United States, between 2007 and 2010, where he worked in local restaurants for free in order to gain experience as a cook and a restaurateur.[5] After his return to Turkey, Gökçe opened his first restaurant in Istanbul in 2010,[6] and later opened a Dubai restaurant in 2014.[7]

In January 2017, Gökçe became more widely known as Salt Bae through a series of viral internet videos and memes that show him "suavely" cutting meat and sprinkling salt,[8] such as "Ottoman Steak", posted on his restaurant's Twitter account.[9] The post has been viewed over 16 million times on Instagram, after which he was dubbed "Salt Bae" due to his peculiar way of sprinkling salt: dropping it from his fingertips to his forearm, and then onto the dish.[8] Due to the viral exposure gained from this post, Gökçe's profile has expanded enormously and he has served a wide range of celebrities and politicians from around the world.[10][11]

Critical reception

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Despite the international fame, early professional reviews in 2018 of his New York City steakhouse were generally negative.[12][13] The New York Post's Steve Cuozzo called the restaurant "Public Rip-off No. 1" and Joshua David Stein writing in GQ called the steak mundane and the hamburgers overcooked.[12] Other critics described the dishes as "over-salted as they are overpriced",[14] the "meat was tough with globs of fat and gristle, and severely lacking in flavor",[15] and that "finishing a meal there constitutes some kind of personal victory over your own body and instincts and mouth".[16] Reviewers described the dining experience as "overpriced".[11][17]

The spectacle with which Gökçe performed his tableside preparations, however, garnered a more positive reception.[18] Eater's Robert Sietsema states, "If you are intent on judging New York's new branch of Nusr-Et only as a steakhouse, you'll probably be disappointed ... If, on the other hand, you appraise the place as dinner theater, you will find it satisfying—but only if Salt Bae is in the house".[18] Bae's Manhattan burger bar, once dubbed New York’s worst restaurant, closed in 2023, three years after opening.[19]

In February 2024, it was reported that Gökçe's Knightsbridge restaurant in London, which serves steaks priced at almost £700, was turning off the heating while pre-tax profits rose 44% to almost £3.3m in 2022 as turnover soared almost 66% to £13.6m.[20] In September 2024 however, the restaurant reported a £4.2m drop in revenues from £13.6m to £9.3m, with profits falling from £3.3m to £2.2m.[21][22] In April 2023, the same London restaurant also faced accusations that former staff members were the victims of tip theft and discrimination according to an investigation carried out by Business Insider financial and business news website.[23]

Controversies

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In December 2017, Gökçe was criticized for a photo taken in 2016—in which he posed in front of, and mimicked, a photo of former Cuban president Fidel Castro.[24] In September 2018, Czech internet personality Týnuš Třešničková became a victim of a failed fire show in the Nusr-Et steakhouse in Istanbul, resulting in 35% total body surface area burns. Several other guests also faced less serious body burns.[25]

In November 2019, four of Gökçe's former employees accused him of getting a share of their tips. They alleged that they were fired from his New York restaurant when they tried to ask questions about the tips. A trial was set to take place to investigate the issue, until Gökçe reached a settlement with his former employees and paid them $230,000. Explaining why he had fired them, he said: "I was not satisfied with the performance of the four employees... Since they were fired, they acted with the feeling of 'look what we are going to do to you' and put forward these tip allegations."[26]

In late September 2020, his restaurant in Boston was ordered to close by public health officials several days after it opened due to violations of COVID-19 safety standards.[27] It reopened in early October 2020.[28] In October 2021, Gökçe came under scrutiny from the British media over a £37,000 bill for a meal at one of his UK restaurants.[29][30]

After the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France in December 2022, Gökçe was again the focus of online criticism after joining the Argentine players on the field post-match, disturbing the players, biting their medals, and handling the trophy, a gesture reserved for winners and heads of state.[31] As a result, FIFA launched an investigation into Gökçe's actions after the final.[32][33]

Personal life

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Gökçe has been involved with charitable work, such as building a school in his hometown of Erzurum.[34] Gökçe stated on Instagram that he had built a library, a guest house, a mosque, an English education center, and a computer laboratory there.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "Salt Bae Owner in Talks to Delay Repayments on Restructured Debt". 6 October 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  2. ^ "Nusret memleketine bakın ne yaptırdı!". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  3. ^ Kurdê Erzîromê Nûsret di cîhanê de deng vedaye, retrieved 30 November 2021
  4. ^ "Rudaw, Nusret'in ailesiyle röportaj yaptı". Ensonhaber.com. 12 June 2017. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Nusret hayat hikayesi". Aksam.com.tr. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 17 February 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Nusret Gökçe kimdir?". Hurriyet.com.tr. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Nusret restaurant to open at Four Seasons Dubai - What's On". What's On Dubai. 11 November 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
  8. ^ a b Ali, Rasha (6 February 2017). "Who the Hell is Salt Bae?". TheWrap. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Instagram post by Nusr_et#Saltbae • Jan 7, 2017 at 10:44am UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on 17 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  10. ^ Tsuji, Alysha (14 February 2017). "Simone Biles happily had food seasoned by 'the one and only' Salt Bae at Laureus Awards". USA Today. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  11. ^ a b Del Valle, Gaby (20 September 2018). "Why is Marco Rubio tweeting about Salt Bae?". Vox. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  12. ^ a b Salt Bae Officially Goes Too Far Archived 30 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Clint Rainey, 25 January 2018
  13. ^ "Reviews Trash Salt Bae's New Restaurant, Calls His Food 'Bland and Boring'" Archived 28 January 2018 at the Wayback Machine Complex, Sajae Elder, 26 January 2018
  14. ^ "You created Salt Bae, and now you have to eat his nasty food". Time Out. 6 February 2018.
  15. ^ "My Disappointing Meal at Salt Bae's NYC Restaurant Cost $1,400". www.observer.com. 26 January 2018.
  16. ^ "The Salt Bae Guy Has A New Restaurant In New York. It's Not Good". www.buzzfeednews.com. 2 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Salt Bae Could Be Planting His Second NYC Restaurant Near Union Square". Eater.com. 7 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 December 2018.
  18. ^ a b Burton, Monica (6 February 2018). "What the Critics Are Saying About Salt Bae's NYC Restaurant". Eater. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  19. ^ "Salt Bae Burger, once dubbed New York's worst restaurant, closes". The Guardian. 13 June 2023.
  20. ^ "Salt Bae restaurant charging nearly £700 for a steak cuts heating to save cash". The Guardian. 19 February 2024.
  21. ^ Hogg, Ryan. "Salt Bae's London restaurant sees revenues fall by £4.3M". Fortune Europe. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  22. ^ "Profits slump at Salt Bae's Nusr-Et steakhouse". The Caterer. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  23. ^ Ankel, Sophia. "Salt Bae's former employees describe tip theft, discrimination, and polyester uniforms within the memeable meat empire". Business Insider. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
  24. ^ Frias, Carlos (3 December 2017). "'Salt Bae' caught posing as Fidel Castro — and he just opened a Miami restaurant". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2018.
  25. ^ "Five injured during a fire show in restaurant of 'Salt Bae' in Istanbul". Ahval. Istanbul. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  26. ^ "'Salt bae' denies accusation of taking share of employees' tips". Hürriyet Daily News. Istanbul. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  27. ^ "Restaurant opened by 'Salt Bae' in Boston closed for virus violations". Boston.com. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  28. ^ Kuschner, Erin (1 October 2020). "Salt Bae's restaurant has reopened. Here's what to know about its first two weeks in business". Boston.com. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  29. ^ Cooper, Leonie (15 October 2021). "Salt Bae scandal: £37k bills & (allegedly!) deleting bad reviews". Time Out London. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  30. ^ Gregory, Ruby; Tesia, Ria; Ford, Gregory (15 October 2021). "Eye-watering £37k bill for steak and chips at posh restaurant". HullLive. Retrieved 15 October 2021.
  31. ^ King, Kieran (19 December 2022). "Salt Bae slammed for breaking FIFA World Cup trophy rules and pulling Rihanna stunt". Daily Mirror.
  32. ^ "World Cup 2022: Fifa investigating Salt Bae's 'undue access' to pitch after final". BBC. 22 December 2022.
  33. ^ "FIFA investigating how celebrity chef got onto World Cup final pitch". CNN. 23 December 2022.
  34. ^ "Nusret Gökçe, külliyeden sonra şimdi de okul yaptırıyor köyüne". Posta.com.tr. 8 May 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Nusret doğduğu köyü paylaştı: Nereden geldiğini unutma!". hthayat.haberturk.com (in Turkish). 21 April 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
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