How a simple cook turned into a star and fed Kadyrov with a knife: Salt Bae's path to world fame

Two years ago, only the residents of Istanbul knew about the Turkish chef Nusret Gokce. But in the winter of 2017, he woke up famous all over the world. And all thanks to a viral video on YouTube, which brought him millions of views and the nickname Salt Bae — "Salt Handsome".

Do you remember the video in which the cook "from the elbow" sprinkles the steak with salt? This is our hero! Let's find out how Gokce's life changed after the whole world found out about him. And, of course, about how he managed to feed Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Nusret Gökçe was born in Turkey in 1983 in a family of poor Kurds. The boy's father worked as a miner, but in order to feed five children, his earnings were not enough.

Nusret Gokce in 1994

That is why after the 6th grade, Nusret, who was 13 at the time, had to leave school and go to work as a butcher's assistant in one of the shops in Istanbul.

Nusret says that then he had to work 18-20 hours a day. According to him, in his whole life he did not ask his father for a penny. The boy gave all his money to his family.

Nusret in 1995, works as a butcher's assistant

In 2007, Nusret firmly decided that he would become a chef in the future. The guy went to work in Argentina to gain experience from local professionals. At that time, he had the last pocket money and a credit card for 7 thousand Turkish lira (about 100 thousand rubles) in his pocket.

In some restaurants, Nusret worked for free, just to learn more about all the subtleties of cooking.

Returning to his homeland in 2010, Gokce decided to start his own business. So his first restaurant appeared in Istanbul, called Nusr-Et. It contained only 12 tables, and the restaurant's team consisted of 10 people, including Gokce himself.

However, the restaurant quickly began to be in demand among locals, and in 2014 Nusret managed to open another institution in Dubai.

But the real success came to Nusret only in 2017, when he was talked about all over the world. And all thanks to his unique technique of cooking meat, which has become an Internet sensation. Many of you remember the video in which the cook "from the elbow" sprinkles the steak with salt. It was this technique that helped Nusret become famous at the time.

After this video turned into a viral meme, Nusret got the nickname Salt Bae — "Salt Handsome". Social media users themselves started using this "trick" of the cook, and some even dressed up Salt Bae for Halloween!

By the end of 2017, Nusret, who at that time was already known all over the world, opened 12 restaurants in different parts of the world. Now thousands of employees are subordinate to the chef, although he started with only 10 people in the team.

David Beckham and Nusret in one of the restaurants of the famous Turk

But he did not limit himself to restaurants alone: over time Gokce became the favorite chef of all celebrities. He was invited to social events and various major events. In 2017, Nusret was even offered to host a dinner after the Oscar ceremony.

Nusret and Leonardo DiCaprio

Despite the fact that the hype around the meme involving Nusret has long subsided, the cook continues to enjoy success. In 2018, Salt Bae opened a restaurant in New York, personally treated Maradona and Kadyrov and even starred in the series Showtime. But let's talk about everything in order…

The Nusr-Et establishment in New York is still in constant demand. And this is even despite the fact that critics called his dishes "overrated", and were still dissatisfied with the quality and size of portions.

In addition, Salt Bae was accused of violating sanitary standards, as the cook touches the steak with his bare hands. He did not go against the law "Salt Handsome" and very soon switched to black gloves.

In March of this year, the legendary Argentine footballer Diego Maradona visited the Nusr-Et restaurant in Dubai. The athlete was so pleased with the reception that he personally expressed gratitude to the cook for the delicious food, hugged him and even kissed him!

And more recently, Nusret personally fed the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The politician visited the Nusr-Et restaurant in Dubai, where the chef cooked him a steak, sprinkled it with spices in his signature manner, and finally planted a piece of meat on a knife and treated Kadyrov to it. Netizens joke that Nusret's restaurant may soon appear in Grozny.

Among the star guests of Salt Bae were popular athletes, actors, actresses, singers and even politicians. The most famous of them are footballers Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, Alvaro Morata and Paul Pogba, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, gymnast and Olympic champion Simone Biles.

In the spring of 2018, the cook appeared in the third season of the TV series "Billions", where he played himself. It is worth noting that the shooting of this scene took place in one of the restaurants of the Nusr-Et chain.

That's how hard work, patience and ambition (well, and another small video on YouTube) led the butcher's assistant to world fame.