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The inspiring story of how Salt Bae became one of the most famous chefs in the world

Home> Entertainment

Updated 10:03 22 Dec 2022 GMTPublished 09:34 22 Dec 2022 GMT

The inspiring story of how Salt Bae became one of the most famous chefs in the world

The chef has worked in the industry for decades

Emily Brown

Emily Brown

Featured Image Credit: nusr_et/Instagram

Topics: Viral, Food And Drink, Football

Emily Brown
Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.

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Salt Bae has caused a stir recently over his behaviour at the World Cup, but how did a man whose 'thing' is sprinkling salt become so famous that he found his way on to the pitch in the first place?

Let's be honest, as far as cooking goes, sprinkling salt isn't exactly an innovative move. In fact, it's literally one of the most basic ingredients used to add flavour, and yet Nusret Gökçe has made an entire identity out of it.

Most people came to know the butcher the same way we come across most things nowadays: the internet.

In 2017, a video of Salt Bae pulling back his arm like a cobra and sprinkling seasoning over a steak went viral, resulting in GIFs, memes and countless recreations.

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But before he became known across the globe as Salt Bae, Gökçe has described putting in the work from the age of 12, when he says he left school and began working as a butcher's apprentice to help out his family with money.

"I woke up at 6 o’clock, two hours on the train commute and 30 minutes after the train on the bus. Then all day long, standing and working. No day off and no vacation," the butcher told The Times in 2019.

Salt Bae began working as a butcher at 12 years old.
nusr_et/Instagram

He was born in August 1983 in a poverty-stricken suburb in Turkey, but managed to work his way up the industry over the years.

Gökçe told NBC in 2017 that he was 'always wishing and wishing to open up a restaurant', and after completing his military service at 20, he got a bank loan which he used to visit Argentina and learn more about the meat industry.

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Throughout 2007 to 2010, he travelled across a number of countries to work in restaurants where he could gain experience, and when he was 27 years old, he opened his first restaurant in Istanbul.

Salt Bae shot to fame in a viral video.
nusr_et/Instagram

Salt Bae went on to open branches in Ankara, Dubai and Doha, and though his dedication to the work was obviously paying off, it wasn't until 2017 that he really became known across the globe as the video of him with his steak earned him the title of the 'sexiest butcher on Instagram'.

He has since gone on to open more than 22 restaurants across the US, UK, Greece and Dubai and feed A-list guests including Leonardo DiCaprio and Usher, though the response to his food hasn't always been positive.

Reviews have criticised both the meat and the prices, and disapproval for Salt Bae only increased this week as he shared a series of photos of himself holding the World Cup - an honour usually reserved for former winners and heads of state.

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