Inside ‘petty tyrant’ Salt Bae’s empire of ‘gold-plated s***’ as shock lawsuits lay bare staff misery & culture of fear
SALT Bae was branded a “petty tyrant” today as former employees exposed the alleged culture of fear in his glitzy restaurant empire.
The fame-hungry chef – known for his £1,400 gold leaf steaks – has been accused of swiping waiters’ tips and sacking terrified staff on a whim like a “dictator” with a “god complex”.
The Turkish butcher – real name Nusret Gökçe – has built a £40million fortune with 22 bling steakhouses around the world since he went viral in a meme.
But he has been hit with a total of seven lawsuits in two cities accusing him of siphoning off tips, sexual and racial discrimination, and breaking employment law.
And he was fined by a criminal court in Turkey after threatening to kill a waiter.
Today nine more former employees who worked with him at six restaurants have spoken out in interviews with Insider.
Salt Bae‘s empire looks “gold from the outside – but s*** from inside,” said a former bartender at Nusr-Et in London.
One manager who worked with him in New York and Miami said internet celebrity had gone to Gökçe’s head.
He told Insider: “His world was nothing but Instagram and fame.
“The sensation was him. He ended up getting this godlike complex.”
Another ex-employee in Mykonos compared him to a dictator.
Others claimed he presided over a macho culture of fear, and was prone to favouritism and unpredictable sackings.
And a barman in London compared the working environment to the Hunger Games films, saying staff never knew if they would be fired before the end of a shift.
A hostess at the same steakhouse described the misery of staff who were constantly on eggshells expecting to be sacked.
“You don’t know if he’s watching you,” she said – referencing his trademark sunglasses. “It’s very uncomfortable to be around him.”
She said one colleague was fired on the spot after she accidentally broke a glass in front of Gökçe, and another waiter was not hired because the boss “didn’t like his shirt”.
She told Insider: “If he doesn’t like anyone, you’re done, no notice period, nothing.
“They tell you to leave straight away.”
She also claimed Salt Bae was furious when the restaurant was not busy and once ordered staff to pose as customers queuing outside.
Meanwhile ex-staffers in Mykonos and Dubai claimed he asked restaurant employees to give him massages.
‘Humiliated’
It comes after an August 2021 lawsuit filed by five meat grillers at Nusr-Et New York described an “aggressive managerial style”.
They claimed the boss frequently swore at staff and blamed them for their colleagues’ mistakes.
The five men were flown in from Istanbul to cook in the Manhattan kitchen, but say they were made to clean toilets instead, and denied overtime payments.
Salt Bae’s lawyer said the case was “amicably resolved”.
In another New York lawsuit in November 2021, bartender Elizabeth Cruz said she was humiliated when a manager ordered her to change into a “short skirt, high-heels, and revealing top” on her first day.
Latino waiter Angelo Maher claimed in another lawsuit he was called “Spanish s***” by a colleague and the New York steakhouse was a place of “physical intimidation and discriminatory intimidation directed at non-Turkish employees”.
He also claimed he was made to lie to customers that the meat was halal – permitted in Islam – “despite the fact this was not true”.
Their lawsuits are ongoing.
Gökçe had to fork out $230,000 to settle a lawsuit with four other servers at his Manhattan steakhouse.
He was accused of conning them out of tips and firing them when they complained.
The four ex-waiters said Gökçe had an “authoritarian, dictatorial attitude” and “doesn’t care about local laws,” the NY Daily News reported in 2021.
The lawsuit also claimed Gökçe likened himself to Tony Montana and “humiliated” them on occasions.
Salt Bae reportedly also settled another New York lawsuit over alleged tip-skimming for $300,000 in 2020.
And he settled for an undisclosed sum with a cocktail waitress in Miami who claimed she was denied promotion and then fired because she is a woman.
But Salt Bae won a federal lawsuit accusing him off illegal tip sharing at the Miami restaurant.
In response to Insider’s report, Gökçe’s lawyer Christy Reuter said: “The allegations are really nothing more than a re-hash of old lawsuits where the claims were disputed and have long since been settled.
“Unfortunately, high profile restaurants and popular chefs are often targets for salacious and meritless claims.
“Nusret is no different. Nusret employs more than a thousand employees around the world — it is a shame that a few old lawsuits and some unflattering remarks should overshadow the tremendous amount of effort that goes into maintaining a global restaurant workforce …or the contributions made by Chef Nusret in creating a mobile kitchen to provide over 6,000 hot meals to victims of the tragic earthquakes.”
In December Salt Bae was widely ridiculed for gatecrashing celebrations on the pitch after the World Cup final.
In disgraceful scenes, the chef pestered Lionel Messi for a selfie, elbowed into team photos and snatched the trophy from a winner’s baby.
Fifa admitted he should never have been allowed on the pitch in Qatar.