Turkish chef Salt Bae, who is under investigation by FIFA for entering the field without permission after the World Cup final in Qatar, is a habit of controversy, especially over the plated steaks offered at his luxury restaurants .
These symbols of ostentation and wealth clad in edible sheets of 24-karat bullion cost thousands of dollars but are not popular with everyone, especially with British and American food critics, who consider them “banal” and “bland”.
In 2018, many Venezuelans protested in Miami when the chef hosted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose country is in a serious economic crisis, at his restaurant in Istanbul.
But Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gokçe, doesn’t mind the criticism and continues to attract politicians and football stars – Ronaldo Fenómeno and some Brazil national team players, Maradona, Beckham, Messi, Mbappé, among others – in its 22 establishments across the world. all over the world, from Beverly Hills to London, via Qatar. “All publicity is good publicity,” the chief once observed.
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His fortune is estimated by the press at US$70 million (about US$66 million).
At the age of 39, Salt Bae has become a social media star, thanks to videos in which he appears to season the meat with a quirky and theatrical gesture and makes sexual references while tossing salt on the fillets.
His image and characteristic gestures, publicized on social media, played a key role in his rise to global celebrity.
On Sunday, after the World Cup final between Argentina and France, in which the Albiceleste captured their third world title, the chef inexplicably managed to enter the field of play at Lusail Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
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Salt Bae appears in several images, including kissing the trophy that could initially only be touched by world champions, FIFA officials, and heads of state and government.
In other images, it is possible to see him grabbing Messi’s arm, which visibly angered the Argentina captain, as well as biting another player’s gold medal.
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FIFA is investigating how the chef was allowed access to the pitch without any official connection to football. There is speculation that Bae will be close to FIFA president, Switzerland’s Gianni Infantino.
A video shared by Salt Bae on Instagram, where he has 50 million followers, shows him being hugged several times by Infantino, who introduces him to other personalities at a reception in Qatar.
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Born into a humble family in eastern Turkey, Nusret dropped out of school at the age of 13 to work as an apprentice butcher.
The chef cultivates an image of a strong and tough man. He publishes videos and photos of him running and training in the most exclusive neighborhoods of Istanbul – “the capital of the world”, in his own words in an interview with AFP in 2020.
Source: DN
