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Salt Bae is leaving London this weekend to open new Saudi Arabia restaurant

Salt Bae is leaving London this weekend to open new Saudi Arabia restaurant

Salt Bae has announced he will be leaving London for pastures new this weekend as he plans to open his latest restaurant.

The celebrity chef revealed he will be bidding farewell to the capital on Sunday as he continues to expand his vast business empire.

It all started when Salt Bae went viral for his signature salt sprinkling move.

He dazzled everyone when he simply rotated his wrist to shower salt from his fingertips in a showy way to season food.

Now the much-talked about foodie is heading to Saudi Arabia to open his 28th restaurant.

Salt Bae, 38, wrote on Instagram: “Sunday is my last day in London. I will go to Riyadh to open my 28th restaurant.”

In a picture next to a glamorous woman, he added: “Sunday is my last day in Lovely London. I want to see you beautiful people before I go.”

Salt Bae — real name Nusret Gökçe — has rarely been out of the headlines since he opened his London steakhouse on September 23, 2021.

He has entertained his 39 million Instagram followers feeding pigeons in Hyde Park, and won over a legion of celebrity admirers and well-heeled patrons who willingly spend hundreds of pounds for gold-flaked slabs of meat.

Bye Bye Baeby: We will not cry despite eye watering prices (Instagram)
Bye Bye Baeby: We will not cry despite eye watering prices (Instagram)

His sudden departure gives us a new perspective on a line the Standard’s restaurant critic Jimi Famurewa wrote in his scathing review of the steakhouse.

He wrote: “He speared a lobe of meat, dangled it into our mouths and was suddenly off to another table, figuratively shimmying out of the window after what had felt like a intensely suggestive, culinary one-night stand.”

Salt Bae recently posted a job ad for a new Chef De Partie - on a wage of £12 an hour - just over the price he charges for a can of red bull.

As part of its recruitment drive, the celebrity hotspot is currently hiring line cooks for £12 to £13 an hour “plus tips”.

Wayne Rooney was among the latest celebrities to pose up at the restaurant (SALT BAE INSTAGRAM)
Wayne Rooney was among the latest celebrities to pose up at the restaurant (SALT BAE INSTAGRAM)

The job advertisement on Caterer.com reads: “As a Chef De Partie, you will be working with some of the finest ingredients from the UK and abroad in one of the most famous steakhouses in the world.”

It says applicants will play a “vital” role in supporting the Head Chef and boasts of a “highly competitive salary and excellent opportunities to develop a global career.”

Salt Bae’s arrival in London caused quite a stir when he opened his glitzy new restaurant in Knightsbridge in September.

The chef had already opened a slew of restaurants in glamorous locations all over the world including New York, Dubai and Istanbul.

An eye-watering  £37,000 bill at Salt Bae’s London restaurant (Reddit/Imgur)
An eye-watering £37,000 bill at Salt Bae’s London restaurant (Reddit/Imgur)

Salt Bae opened the doors to his first restaurant in Istanbul in 2010 before sweeping the globe with his success.

Leonardo DiCaprio, David Beckham, Jason Statham and Naomi Campbell have been among the famous faces who have eaten at his restaurants.

Some diners have been known to pay as much as £37,000 on a glittering evening out at the restaurant.

So it was no wonder a flurry of excitement swept the capital as a whole galaxy of stars rushed to try out the infamous gold wrapped steak.

Wayne Rooney and his family were among the famous names to pose up with the much-talked about chef.

Salt Bae’s arrival in London caused quite a stir when he opened his glitzy new restaurant in Knightsbridge (@nusr_et/Instagram)
Salt Bae’s arrival in London caused quite a stir when he opened his glitzy new restaurant in Knightsbridge (@nusr_et/Instagram)

The football star treated his wife Coleen and their four sons to the extravagant meal one evening.

Other well known guests included Gemma Collins, who told her followers she was left in “utter shock” when she received the £1,450 bill at the restaurant.

She said: “I felt sick spending £1,450 on Salt Bae’s gold steak.”

Rio Ferdinand and his wife Kate Ferdinand were also among the crowd filing into try out the new restaurant hotspot.

Danielle Lloyd and Love Island’s Zara McDermott led the reality stars getting their cameras out to show off from inside the swanky eatery on Instagram.

Another image of Salt Bae posted on his Instagram account
Another image of Salt Bae posted on his Instagram account

It would probably be fair to say he has not attracted as much love from the foodie establishment.

Michelin star chef Daniel Clifford branded the food star a “Mickey Mouse” chef, while Marco Pierre White admitted he has no idea who Salt Bae is.

He told The Metro: “What’s his name? I’ve never heard of him, but remember I live in a field, I don’t watch TV, and I don’t read newspapers.”

However there has been plenty of praise for the celebrity chef’s business acumen.

Seven 54’s owner Nikolas Opacic, 30, called the Turkish chef, 38, a “genius” for being fully booked on “insane prices”.

He said the people complaining were not even visiting the much-talked about restaurant.

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