--- description: The Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe now known virally on the web as "Salt Bae" is planning on opening restaurants in NY and London. title: Salt Bae Chef is Opening Restaurants in NY and London image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46385942dd236e57/6988b729428a9e1a07cd59d2/salt-bae-restaurants-nyc-la.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The 'Salt Bae' Chef Is Opening New Restaurants to Spread His Passion for Meats  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 25, 2017 7:12 PM CUT  Salt spilling on wooden table from salt cellar Salt spilling on wooden table from salt cellarGetty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 25, 2017 7:12 PM CUT Turkish chef [Nusret Gökçe](http://people.com/food/salt-bae-turkish-steak-chef-internet-food-trend/ "undefined"), better known to the world as [the supreme salt sprinkler that inspired the viral “Salt Bae” meme](http://time.com/4643483/salt-bae-meme-portrait/ "undefined"), is bringing his trademark flair with meat to new locales. In an interview with [_Hürriyet Daily News_](http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/social-media-phenomenon-salt-bae-nusret-gokce-vows-to-be-worlds-greatest-butcher.aspx?pageID=238&nID=108834&NewsCatID=341 "undefined"), Gökçe said that he would be opening branches of his popular Nusr-et chain grill houses in New York and London in the next few months, saying that “meat has become a passion for me” and that these expansions were possible because of “telling stories and drawing people’s attention.” Gökçe also clarified that his now-famous flamboyant seasoning of the meat wasn’t “to show off,” but his signature way of “blessing the meat.” With his upcoming locations, Gökçe is unconcerned about not knowing other languages, maintaining that he can “communicate with people through meat.” Watch the video that started the “Salt Bae” meme below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4648602/salt-bae-restaurants/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4648602/salt-bae-restaurants/"},"headline":"The 'Salt Bae' Chef Is Opening New Restaurants to Spread His Passion for Meats","datePublished":"2017-01-25T19:12:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:40:26.648Z","description":"Meat with flair for everyone","url":"https://time.com/4648602/salt-bae-restaurants/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Entertainment","Internet","Culture","memes"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46385942dd236e57/6988b729428a9e1a07cd59d2/salt-bae-restaurants-nyc-la.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt46385942dd236e57/6988b729428a9e1a07cd59d2/salt-bae-restaurants-nyc-la.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Salt spilling on table from salt cellar","caption":"Salt spilling on table from salt cellar","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4648602/salt-bae-restaurants/","name":"The 'Salt Bae' Chef Is Opening New Restaurants to Spread His Passion for Meats"}}]}] ```