Nusret Gökçe

Nusret Gökçe — Biography

The way he prepares and presents meat has made Nusret Gökçe, a Turkish butcher and chef who founded the Nusr-Et steakhouse chain, known worldwide. When his way of salting meat spread online in January 2017 he became the internet phenomenon "Salt Bae", and he now runs luxury steakhouses well beyond Turkey.

Born into a Kurdish family, he moved to Darıca at two, left school in the sixth grade to apprentice with a butcher in Kadıköy and worked long days. Between 2007 and 2010 he traveled through Argentina and the United States, working unpaid in local restaurants. Back home he opened the first Nusr-Et in Etiler in 2010 with Mithat Erdem and added a Dubai branch in 2014; the Doğuş Group became a partner in 2012. The chain later spread to Greece, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In 2019 he bought the Park Hyatt Istanbul - Maçka Palas and opened a branch inside it. His fame drew figures from sport, politics and entertainment to his restaurants from around the world.

The food has not always won the same praise: in 2018 critics found his New York branch overpriced and mediocre while his tableside showmanship was received more kindly, and his Manhattan burger bar closed in 2023. He has said he built a school, library, mosque and computer laboratory in his native Erzurum.