At the peak of his fame, Salt Bae (known as Nusret Gökçe) was inescapable, with a 2017 viral video showing the Turkish butcher sprinkling salt on steak turning him overnight into a global celebrity, drawing stars to his pricey Nusr-Et steakhouses
At the height of his fame, the walking meme that is Salt Bae was impossible to escape. Following a six-second video of the Turkish butcher flamboyantly sprinkling salt onto a steak, Nusret Gökçe went astronomically viral back in 2017, turning him from an unknown chef into a global celebrity basically overnight.
Footballers, Hollywood actors and influencers all flocked to his Nusr-Et steakhouses, more than happy to pay through their noses for a taste of Nusret’s meat, and chance to witness his viral salt shaking. Salt Bae’s story is a classic rags-to-riches tale. Born into a poor family in eastern Turkey, the social media star left school at just 11 to work as a butcher’s apprentice, before going on to open his first restaurant in Istanbul.
Years of graft paid off when his Instagram videos went viral, earning him the nickname “Salt Bae” and paving the way for a rapid global expansion across Europe, the Middle East, the UK and US.
However, the excessiveness that fuelled his meteoric rise has, it seems, defined his decline.
The London branch of his viral restaurant, based in swanky Knightsbridge, became notorious for its ridiculous prices, with steaks costing hundreds of pounds and some diners racking up bills of tens of thousands.
Critics and customers alike questioned the value of the food, branding the experience as overpriced and underwhelming, while online reviews piled up accusing staff of being pushy and the food of failing to justify the gaudy spectacle.
The financial impact is now clear. Despite early success, Salt Bae’s UK business recently reported losses of more than £5 million, even after cutting prices to tempt customers back.
Over in the US, things have gone even worse One by one, Nusr-Et locations in New York, Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas and Beverly Hills have closed, leaving just two restaurants open across the entire country.
To make matters worse, Gökçe recently lost a two-year battle to stop another food business from trademarking the word “SALT”.
A UK tribunal ruled the term was too generic and rejected claims that diners associate it exclusively with Salt Bae, ordering his company to pay costs.
The social media star has been accused of withholding staff tips, breaking Covid safety standards, and overindulging himself during Argentina’s World Cup celebrations in 2022, and has been the subject of controversy throughout his culinary career.
Salt Bae is still far from drying up despite his issues.
Source: Mirror
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