Top 10 Salt Bae Memes

Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe became an Internet sensation in 2017 — earning the moniker “Salt Bae” — when a video of him sprinkling salt over some meat that he’d just deftly cut went viral.

However, Gökçe managed to incense several people who, at one time, loved him on social media with his antics following his meteoric rise to fame.

Recently, Gökçe welcomed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to his restaurant in Istanbul, according to a Newsweek report. The video of President Maduro eating in such an expensive establishment — where meals cost more than two months minimum wage salary for his constituents, while others in Venezuela starved — drew the ire of both Venezuelan citizens and of Salt Bae fans across the globe.

Even Florida’s Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, weighed in on the topic. Rubio tweeted, “This guy… who admires dictator @NicolasMaduro so much actually owns a steakhouse in, of all places, #Miami.” The senator also included both the phone number and address to Gökçe’s Miami establishment.

The spotlight on Gökçe’s actions caused a rash of negative Yelp reviews, prompting the website to close the reviews for Nusr-Et in Miami temporarily.

This wasn’t Salt Bae’s first time making waves since his surprising rise to fame. He also dressed as Cuban dictator Fidel Castro last year — right after he opened Nusr-Et in Miami. The restaurateur praised Castro for starting a revolution, the Miami Herald reported.

In the wake of such controversy, here is a look at the top 10 Salt Bae memes on social media.

The meme below takes a look at what Salt Bae might look like if he favored McDonald’s over fancy steak restaurants. Instead of meat, the heftier version of the chef cuts up a burger, and then sprinkles it with fries instead of salt.

This funny take on the original sensation imagines what might happen if somebody heard explosives behind a heavy duty wall.

This version — featuring the original chef — laments the struggle of writers everywhere.

This series of images portrays a backyard grilling Salt Bae wannabe.

In the DC vs. Marvel comic wars, this comical picture features Thanos sprinkling jewels in a well-known way.

What about this aptly named Nougat Bae, featuring the head of Stranger Things actor Gaten Matarazzo?

This interesting mockup shows Elon Musk as “Rocket Bae,” situated in front of his company SpaceX.

Yes, there’s even a Disney’s Snow White Bae lurking around on social media.

While some people remain adamantly against pineapple as a pizza topping, someone has come along and sprinkled it on — Salt Bae style.

Inevitably, some people will find themselves in this ill-tempered situation.

Finally, a topically targeted political meme — showing how the chef rubbed salt in the wound for starving Venezuelans.