Meet The Turkish Chef Who Is Going Viral For Sensually Salting And Slicing Meat

Salt Bae is 2017’s first meme.

Zeynep Yenisey

Jan 11, 2017

Et giren yere mutluluk girer dedi🤔🤔

A photo posted by nusr_et (@nusr_et) on Jun 9, 2016 at 11:42am PDT

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A few days ago, the internet was blessed with a new meme—an erotic, knife wielding, salt-sprinkling chef the internet lovingly named “Salt Bae.”

Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, is a snazzy and hella sensual Turkish chef who co-owns the popular steakhouse Nusr-et, which has six locations across Turkey and Dubai, and caters to celebrity clientele including Antonio Banderas and Tommy Hilfiger. And the name is fitting, because “et” means “meat” in Turkish.

İşte kuzu kuzu geldim dedi

A video posted by nusr_et (@nusr_et) on Oct 28, 2016 at 6:52am PDT

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What makes Salt Bae different than other famous chefs is the way he looks, the way he moves, and the way he cooks. First off, he almost looks like the sensual threeway lovechild of Johnny Depp, Fabio and culinary school.

Masaj müzik Sevgi

A video posted by nusr_et (@nusr_et) on Oct 13, 2016 at 6:27am PDT

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But most notably, it’s the way he treats the meat that caught everyone’s attention. To him, those aren’t just steaks; they are his lovers.

Please, pay attention to the way he sensually slaps the steaks like he would a naughty girl in the bedroom, the way he gently massages the big slabs of meat with butter to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and most memorably, how he artfully sprinkles salt over his elbow and onto the steaks like the meat-loving restaurateur he is, hence the name “Salt Bae.”

Ottoman steak 🔪

A video posted by nusr_et (@nusr_et) on Jan 7, 2017 at 2:44am PST

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Did you catch that artsy salt-sprinkle at the end? Let’s see that part again:

That, my friends, is the first meme of 2017. And even though Gökçe has been around for a while, the internet just saw this hilarious salt-flick, and lost its goddamn mind.

When your sibling is already getting shouted at and you remind your mum of other bad things they have done pic.twitter.com/X8Z4zXeRyX

— Talha (@90sTalha) January 8, 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo sprinkling the last bit of fairy dust on his 2016 like… 💯 #TheBest #SaltBae pic.twitter.com/NZX2GBN5AK

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 9, 2017

Cleveland's finishing touch. #SaltBae pic.twitter.com/Xx4dfvQE8C

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 11, 2017

The salt-sprinkling sensation suddenly became so huge that Bruno Mars even tweeted the meme with the caption: “Annndddd I’m out.”

Annndddd I'm out pic.twitter.com/jFS8aFaqN4

— Bruno Mars (@BrunoMars) January 8, 2017

But really, this guy is a pro when it comes to his meat. I’ve never seen anyone look at a steak the way he looks at his. It’s obvious he feels many strong emotions towards his meat… I mean, just look at him. He’s dry humping the air while sawing into those colossal chops.

This brings a whole new meaning to food porn. He fingers the steaks. He rubs them with butter. He gives them a goodnight kiss.

He is Salt Bae.