Salt Bae slammed for being ‘super disrespectful’ by talking on his AirPods while serving customers

Salt Bae has been slammed for chatting on his AirPods while serving a customer in his exorbitant restaurant, as the influencer continues to face a backlash after his World Cup appearance.

Ehtisham Aziz paid £500 to have Turkish butcher Nusret Gökçe carve and serve a steak at his family’s table in Doha, Qatar.

But he was left less than impressed after the star kept his AirPods in throughout and appeared to be talking to someone on the phone.

The restaurant guests branded him ‘super disrespectful’ and said the quality of food was also poor.

Salt Bae has been slammed for chatting on his AirPods while serving a customer in his exorbitant restaurant

Aziz gave the experience a minus 20 out of 10, saying: ‘He made us pay $600 (£500) to come cut the steak at the table.

‘He was talking to someone on his AirPods at our table, super disrespectful.’

Aziz then claimed his cousin asked Salt Bae to autograph his football but the internet celebrity threw it away instead.

In summary, the customer said: ‘I would not recommend. Waste of money and extremely rude staff.’  

Salt Bae shot to overnight fame in 2017 when footage of him sprinkling salt over a meat platter gained him internet stardom.

Ehtisham Aziz paid £500 to have Turkish butcher Nusret Gökçe carve and serve a steak at his family’s table in Doha, Qatar

Aziz gave the experience a minus 20 out of 10, saying: ‘He made us pay $600 (£500) to come cut the steak at the table

Aziz then claimed his cousin asked Salt Bae to autograph his football but the internet celebrity threw it away instead

He has opened over 22 restaurants across the US, UK, Greece and Dubai, which have been savaged by critics as overpriced but appear to be a hit with the public.

He sparked outrage last week when he appeared on the pitch after the World Cup final, celebrating with Lionel Messi and his teammates and even holding the iconic trophy.

FIFA are now investigating how he was allowed to break tournament rules which left a bitter taste in the mouth for football fans around the world.

‘Following a review, FIFA has been establishing how individuals gained undue access to the pitch after the closing ceremony at Lusail stadium on 18 December. The appropriate internal action will be taken,’ a spokesperson told SportsMail. 

Salt Bae was able to access the pitch after the final and held the World Cup trophy

Salt Bae, real name Nusret Gokce, broke FIFA’s rules on the trophy with his antics after the final 

Born in August 1983, Nusret was one of five children. His father Faik Gökçe worked as a miner and would have to spend months at a time away from the family’s home in poverty-stricken suburb east of Istanbul. 

Speaking to The Times in 2019, Nusret explained how he often went to school wearing shoes and shirts that didn’t fit as his parents could afford to buy him anything else.  

Nusret claims he left school at the age of 12 and started working as a butcher’s apprentice to help his father our with the family’s finances.

He recalled: ‘I woke up at 6 o’clock, 2 hours on the train commute and 30 minutes after the train in the bus. Then all day long, standing and working. No day off and no vacation.’ 

While working in Turkish steakhouses, the aspiring chef had to work his way up from the bottom and his responsibilities reportedly included washing dishes.  

Speaking to NBC in 2017, Nusret explained: ‘Since I was 14, I worked more than 13 hours a day as a kitchen runner for a butcher. I was always wishing and wishing to open up a restaurant.’

Nesrut left school at 12 and went to work as a butcher’s apprentice to earn money for his family

After completing his military service, Nusret resumed working as a butcher and travelled to Argentina to learn about the meat industry. He was 27 when he opened his first restaurant

After doing his military service at 20, Nusret managed to convince a bank to lend him £2,500 to visit Argentina to learn more about the meat industry. 

When he was 27, he opened his first restaurant in Istanbul and claims to have made £4,500 on the first day. With the help of Turkish businessman Ferit Sahenk, Nusret went on to open branches in Ankara, Dubai and Doha.

However, he always had his heart set on one day conquering America and applied for a visa three times before his first successful application in 2009. 

Although he had made name for himself in the restaurant business, Nesrut’s life changed overnight in 2017 when he shared a video of himself preparing an Ottoman steak in his signature style on Instagram.

Nusret (pictured in 2017) went viral when he posted a video of himself seasoning a piece of meat with his ‘cobra’ hand and allowing the salt to run down his forearm

The video – which has amassed over 17m views –  shows the butcher sprinkling salt on the meat with his hand shaped ‘like a cobra’.

Dressed in a white t-shirt and slim-fitting black jeans, the ‘sensual’ move earned Nusret the title of ‘sexiest butcher on Instagram’. 

‘All of my feelings are coming from inside of the meat,’ he told NBC.  ‘Down to when I put the salt onto the meat.’

Following on from the success of the video, Nusret introduced his famous gold-covered steak at his restaurants – which has attracted the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham, Usher and Kylian Mbappe in over the years.

In 2019, Nusret bought the Macka Palace – where he has a penthouse apartment – for £36m 

Nurset’s gold-foil steaks will set London diners back a staggering £1,450

In 2019,  the Instagram star splashed out £36m on luxurious hotel Macka Palace in Istanbul – where he opened another one of his restaurants. 

Announcing the landmark moment on Instagram, Nusret wrote: ‘I had one dream which was to have my own restaurant at my own hotel. Thank God one of my biggest dreams is coming true on Friday. See you at Nusr-Et Macka Palace.’ 

Along with his penthouse apartment in the ‘palace’, Nesrut is believed to also have properties in the US and UK too and often posts pictures from a private pool in Beverley Hills. 

Last year, Nusret opened his first London restaurant – where a Golden Giant Tomahawk steak will set diners back a cool £1,450.

In its first four months, the restaurant made £7million of sales – despite being plagued by poor reviews online.

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David Beckham is one of countless celebrities who have dined at Nusret’s restaurants

In 2021, Nusret UK Limited, the company behind the steakhouse, filed financial reports to the UK’s Companies House revealing that it ‘performed higher than expected and made a profit of £2.3million. Pictured, a diner at the restaurant 

Diners were left less than impressed with the glitzy steakhouse, with a slew of bad reviews leaving it at number 20,491 out of 23,811 in the capital on TripAdvisor in late 2021.

One person commented: ‘Do not be fooled by the glitz and glam and waste your money. Terrible food. Meat was not at all tasty. Ended up going for a £5 kebab after a £300 bill… this place is the biggest joke in London.’

Meanwhile another wrote: ‘Insult to humanity. Worst food, worst service. Paid over £1,800 for three of us. Poor quality, smelly meat, small portions. Rather spend £50 in the local restaurant, will be better! Never again!’

Despite his huge online following, Nesrut has always remained coy about his private life and previously asserted he doesn’t have time for a relationship.  

Usher pictured at one of Nusret’s restaurants, where he bought the gold-foil steak

World Cup star Kylian Mbappe pictured with Salt Bae at one of his restaurants in 2020

Nusret sent the rumour mill into overdrive when he shared a picture surrounded by nine young children in 2017. He captioned the post: ‘The man who does not spend time with his family is not a real man.’

He told The Times in 2019: ‘The person I’m going to date, she’s going to be upset because I don’t have the time. I work until 3am. I like to make women happy, not unhappy.’ 

That said, the restaurateur set social media alight five years ago when he posted a photo with nine children – which fans speculated were all his own.

Sending the rumour mill into overdrive, he captioned the photo: ‘The man who does not spend time with his family is not a real man.’