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On the surface, he’s just a good-looking man from Turkey, but to the internet hivemind he has proven to be much, much more. Nusret Gökçe is a 32-year-old butcher and restaurateur with six restaurants across Turkey bearing his name (Nusr-Et). But what you really need to know about is the ridiculous flair with which he appears to do just about anything — especially handling meat.
Here he is preparing some meat for his new Dubai restaurant, while shunning anything resembling chef-adjacent attire in favor of an elegant t-shirt and suit vest combo — not to mention the impeccable facial hair situation and perfectly on-trend sunglasses.
His unique salting style seems to have captured the internet’s collective imagination, resulting in the moniker/hashtag Saltbae, while also spawning multiple copycats.
#saltbae for who... say hello to #aromatbae pic.twitter.com/4kbIcJjiaK
— Ndumiso Lindi (@roosta27) January 10, 2017
vegetarian #saltbae pic.twitter.com/sbYoY0M2Sw
— Kari Sonde (@kari_sonde) January 9, 2017
Gökçe’s Instagram is a veritable treasure trove, consisting of an array of shots of the man either posing with a knife, making sexy eyes, or engaging in various meaty stunts (or all of the above).
Here he is befriending some critters he may go on to butcher.
Here’s a few more noteworthy moments from the newly discovered internet icon. And hey, there’s still about nine months to get your #Saltbae Halloween costume in order.
• Nusret Gökçe [Instagram]
• Twitter’s #SaltBae Is Already in the Copycat Phase of His Meme Life [The Verge]
• More IDK Coverage [E]
