Nusret Gokce commonly known as ‘Salt Bae’ is founder of one of the most popular restaurant chains today. He worked as a butcher for 15 years then launched his first restaurant in 2010, but in 2017 his viral video propelled him to fame. He now co-owns 17 Nusr-Et restaurants across the globe which generate $100m a year, with the chain potentially valued at close to $1Bn. Nusret has 30m+ followers and has earned $60m+ from his restaurant business.
Nusret Gokce’s rise to Salt Bae stardom began on January 7, 2017, the day he posted a 36-second video to Instagram titled, “Ottoman Steak.” In the clip, Gokce performs his signature moves, slicing a bone-in steak and ending with his patented sprinkling of salt. According to Bustle, within moments, the Twitter universe discovered the video and ran with it. The next day, Bruno Mars tweeted a picture of Salt Bae with the caption “Annndddd I’m out,” and a meme was born. Within 48 hours, the post had 2.4 million views. To date, the post has 16,154,893 views.
That is Salt Bae. As for the man behind the meme, Gokce was born just outside of Istanbul in 1983. His education ended a few years later — when he was 5 years old.
Then in 2009, Gokce headed to Buenos Aires — a city of carnivores — on a mission to learn more about the meat industry. He worked at a restaurant there, but his heart was set on bringing his love of meat to America.
By 2010, Gokce, at age 27. He opened his first Nusr-Et steakhouse in the Etiler neighborhood of Istanbul. It had eight tables and 10 employees. One day a Turkish businessman named Ferit Sahenk ate at the restaurant. Sahenk was so impressed, he invested in the nascent business, and the rest is history.
(Via The Numbers game Instagram page)
Follow us on:
Make sure to share this post and subscribe to our newsletter to receive notifications on our latest posts, as well as exclusive content and much more!