Our internet star

Viral Instagram sensation Salt Bae is one of our home-grown claims to internet fame

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with Nusret Gokce, known as Salt Bae, in a picture posted on social media.

It seems so trivial. A man with a ponytail cutting up a large steak with deliberate but aggressive slices of his knife only to finish by bending his right arm and sprinkling salt over the meat. This scene was captured on Instagram as part of a promotion for a Dubai steakhouse and subsequently sparked a worldwide internet phenomenon. The man in the video, Turkish restaurateur Nusret Gokce, has made his name as the owner of steakhouses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

With the likes of pop star Rihanna and football player Danny Welbeck promoting Salt Bae – as Mr Gokce is commonly known – on their Instagram accounts, Mr Gokce now has plans to expand his restaurant operation to New York.

This is something special for the Dubai restaurant scene. More often than not famous chefs bring established restaurants to our shores, and not the other way around. After honing his skills and brand here, Salt Bae is reversing the trend and taking his restaurant concept from the UAE to the world.