Who is Salt Bae?
He is Nusret Gokce, a butcher-turned-chef from Turkey.
What does he do?
He enjoys salting and slapping large cuts of meat in a very sensual manner.
Where to see him in action?
On his Instagram account nusr_et
Nusret Gokce never imagined an Instagram video of him sprinkling salt over a tomahawk steak in 2017 would go viral. But it did. The Internet christened him Salt Bae, a nickname the chef and restaurateur has embraced as he expands his steakhouse chain beyond Turkey and the Middle East — most recently, to Midtown Manhattan. “Americans and New Yorkers love me very much,” he said over breakfast on a recent morning at his restaurant, Nusr-Et, a play on his first name.
Nusret wore his usual outfit: A white scoop T-shirt and dark sunglasses, hair pulled back. He spoke a slow, rudimentary English as he picked apart exactly eight hard-boiled eggs in order to consume just the whites. Through a translator found in the kitchen, Nusret described a strict work regimen that dates back to his days as a butcher, toiling to provide for his family in Turkey, and to his service in the military.
Now, not surprisingly, his toiling is rewarded with luxury amenities at the end of the night: For now, Nusret, a 35-year-old bachelor (with 13 children), is living at the Plaza Hotel, a short trip from his newest restaurant.
ENERGY ADJUSTMENT
Sunday morning I wake up at like 6 or 6.30 to go to the gym. I drink a glass of water and then, before I start my workout, I drink a cup of coffee. I love myself. I want to look stronger and be better. I leave all of the negative energy there and go to the restaurant with more positive energy.
PROTEIN-HEAVY
Sometimes I go a little excessive on the workout, for about an hour or an hour and a half, but I’m at the restaurant by 9 at the latest. I eat a protein-heavy diet. I eat oatmeal a lot, before I work out, or after. In the morning after my workout, I eat egg whites, very little toasted bread, cheese, tomatoes.
READY THE MEATS
So when I come in the morning, I gather my cooks. I talk to them about what we did last night, what is missing, what we should do to be better. Then after our recap of everything, I start preparing my meats for the day.
SHOW TIME
Most of the meats are served at the tables. I do it myself, personally. When I go to each table, the meat is cut and served. After I cut it, I do the move. I don’t have time to take a break. This is a busy place and people want to come here to see me and be served by me.
QUICK BITE
At around 6 I have nuts. Before dinner is served in the restaurant, at about 7 or 7.30, I have my dinner. After that, I won’t eat anything at all.
PERSONAL TOUCH
I go to the same table, sometimes three times. I don’t see myself as a butcher or just a restaurant owner. I view my job as an art because I make art out of meat and the move is like a final touch on this art. It came from within me.
LEAD BY EXAMPLE
I’m the last to leave. One of the most important criteria for this work is that people follow you. I’m a leader at the restaurant. If I do this, the people at the restaurant will try to do better. I believe in that and that’s the way it is. This is how it continues. Every day for me is the same.
ROLL TO THE PLAZA
So, after I finish, at around 2, I take my self-balancing board and go to my hotel on that.
NOT TIRED?
Being tired isn’t anything. What’s important is the mind. The body being tired isn’t important. You can get over the body being tired by resting for a half-hour or an hour. What’s important is whether the mind is tired. And because I work out and love my work so much, I don’t feel tired.
DECOMPRESS
I wash up and look at the news of the day. At the hotel there’s a TV directly across from me, but I don’t have time to watch it. Because if I watch it, and hang out in front of it for a half-hour, I’m sacrificing sleep. I do a mental evaluation of the day, then go to sleep.
The New York Times News Service
