IN SEASON
Salt Bae is about to open his first New York steakhouse thanks to salt sprinkling video fame
A DASHING Turkish chef who broke the internet when a video of him flamboyantly sprinkling salt before slicing and dicing a steak went viral is opening a restaurant in New York.
Nusret Gökçe's, whose seasoning flair earned him the nickname Salt Bae and worldwide fame, will unveil his latest Nusr-Et Steakhouse in Midtown soon.
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The restaurant's windows are emblazoned with the #saltbae and it will be his seventh restaurant.
The video of him lovingly preparing an Ottoman steak, posted on January 7 2016, now has more than 16 million views.
His strangely sensual meat videos soon evolved into a series of viral memes, with viewers taking particular delight in the way Nusret sprinkled a handful of salt crystals at the end of the clip.
Turkish chef Nusret Gokce, known as Salt Bae, goes viral thanks to his meat videos
There is now a whole Twitter page dedicated to #saltbae memes - which has more than 6,000 followers.
While Nusret's own Instagram page has attracted 2.6 million fans, and his meme has cropped up in Melbourne graffiti and even T-shirts worn by Rihanna and Ben Affleck.
And even Titanic star Leonardo DiCaprio is a fan of the much-loved web star.
The meme favourite was snapped seasoning The Revenant actor's food, as Leo, 43, looked on seemingly entranced by his salting skills.
Amusingly, Arsenal's Danny Welbeck paid tribute to the popular meme when he celebrated two goals on his return from 265 days out injured.
Amir Khan does his best Salt Bae impression as he barbecues a slab of meat
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Salt Bae entertains West Ham players during a mid-season break in Dubai
The word 'bae' is colloquially used as a shortened version of the word 'babe' or 'baby'.
However, despite Nusret's loving tendency towards his meat, the word 'bae' is actually an acronym.
Salt Bae can be translated to "salt before anyone else".
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Nusret became a humble butcher's apprentice at the age of 14, and has been slowly growing his empire ever since.
Long before achieving viral fame, Nuryet was a well-known fixture in Turkey.
He is now the co-owner of five steakhouses and two burger joints in Turkey and Dubai, named Nusr-Et (after himself), the first of which opened in 2010.
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According to Turkish media, its a million-dollar empire with 400 employees.
Celebs including tennis ace Roger Federer and Arsenal footballer Mesut Ozil have dined at his steakhouses.
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