I gave Salt Bae a gift, now I want it BACK – the way he harassed World Cup stars was so disrespectful, says ‘Curry King’
A RESTAURANTEUR who gave Salt Bae a gift has demanded it back after the disrespectful way he harassed World Cup stars.
‘Curry King’ Suleman Raza recently dined at Salt Bae’s Nusr-Et Steakhouse in London and introduced himself to the celebrity chef.
In a video posted to TikTok, the British Pakistani entrepreneur is seen telling Salt Bae he owns 35 restaurants and presenting him with two gifts.
One of the items was for Salt Bae, and another was for his staff.
Suleman, the founder of Spice Village Restaurants & Grand Sapphire Hotels, posted the gift exchange nine days ago – three days after Salt Bae was slammed for his “pathetic” pestering of Lionel Messi to get a selfie and touching the World Cup after Argentina’s win.
Five days ago, he posted a new clip, asking for the gift back.
Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, somehow got himself in among the winning team and managed to get selfie with Lionel Messi as he celebrated his team’s triumph.
But in the run up, he was seen badgering the superstar and repeatedly grabbing his arm until the player relented and posed for a picture.
The chef was slammed on Twitter as “pathetic” for his attention seeking antics, which were also described as the “cringiest thing ever”.
Suleman agrees, saying Salt Bae’s antics on the football pitch were unacceptable.
In his latest video on the controversy Suleman says: “Salt Bae, you’re a chef and I’m a curry king. I want my gift back.
“Do you know why? Because you have been so rude and disrespectful to the players.
“The way you have harrassed the families while they were with their families on the pitch.
“The way you have tried to snatch the trophy from the players
“You have lost all your respect and fans from all around the world, including me.
“You know what, you are so desperate and that’s why you lost all your respect and that’s why I want my gift back.
“Let me know when and how.”
Suleman’s video has gone viral, being viewed more than 4.6 million times and garnering more than 8,500 comments.
But many of the social media users who shared their opinions didn’t agree with him asking for his gift back.
One person said: “Using Salt Bae as a bait to take his share of fame/controversy.”
Someone else said: “Trying to get his bit of fame from this.”
Another wrote: “The way your trying to use another man’s downfall as your moment to shine.”
Fifa was forced to make a humiliating admission about Salt Bae crashing the World Cup final.
It said the famous chef, who was pictured pestering Argentinian players after their win against France, should not have been on the pitch.
Now Fifa is conducting an internal investigation to see how the chef got onto the pitch as he has no commercial relationship with Fifa and was not invited onto the pitch by Gianni Infantino Sky Sports News reports.
Salt Bae sparked fury before the World Cup after bragging about a £140,584 bill at his high-end restaurant.
A single steak from the evening was over £1000, and the group spent almost £115,000 on wine alone.
The backlash came amidst the worst cost-of-living crisis seen in decades, as inflation soars and millions struggle to pay for food and rent.
Salt Bae shot to fame in 2017 when a video of him lovingly preparing a steak by theatrically sprinkling a handful of salt crystals, quickly went viral.
Nusret quickly became a celebrity in his own right, cooking for celebrities like David Beckham, Leonardo DiCaprio, and DJ Khaled.
He opened his first Nusr-Et steakhouse in Istanbul in 2010.
Suleman Raza has been approached for comment.