Salt Bae Gets Called Out For Exploiting Turkey's Food Crisis With Brand Video
While celebrity chefs have existed, in one form or another, for an incredibly long time, it's safe to say that the age of the internet has produced some of the absolute wackiest culinary innovators in history. It's difficult to imagine that Antonin Carême, a famous chef in early-19th-century France, would have the pure audacity to make a pizza entirely out of meat or a Transformer from a Turkey, just two of many insane meal creations from "Epic Meal Time."
Another recognizable face among the crowd of eccentric internet celebrity chefs is Salt Bae. Nusret Gökçe, who was born in Turkey, became a smash success in the culinary sphere after a clip of him delicately sprinkling salt flakes on a freshly cooked steak went viral. He has since amassed a huge online following, in addition to owning multiple restaurants, but opinions vary in regard to Salt Bae. In fact, the food at his NYC steakhouse made people pretty salty and for some critics, like Pete Wells of The New York Times, the food's flavor simply fails to match all the fanfare.
But it's for a much more serious reason that some people on the internet have recently turned against Salt Bae; namely, his new charitable project, which they believe is overtly self-promotional.
Salt Bae's response to the earthquake in Turkey
Recently, an olive grove in the south of Turkey was rocked by an absolutely devastating earthquake, per CNN. The death toll continues to climb, but as of now, tens of thousands of lives are reported lost across both Turkey and Syria.
In response to the devastating natural disaster, the Turkish-born Salt Bae returned to the region. Using a food truck, he and a crew of volunteers are dishing out thousands of hot meals every day to the dislocated earthquake survivors. However, some people question the celebrity chef's motivations in this charitable endeavor.
In a response to a video on Salt Bae's official Instagram page, several users call out the chef for shamelessly showing the faces of the earthquake victims. Photographer Atul Kasbekar wrote, "If you're doing the charity that's great, just do it quietly without loving close ups of your branding," and another user stated, "There's no need to show the victims faces. Give them their dignity." One commenter professed that "Donations should be made without promotion or branding."
Nevertheless, the truck continues to give out meals, which many users praise, and in another post, Nusret Gökçe sent out a heartfelt prayer to the victims of the natural disaster.