He is probably one of the biggest chefs on social media and now Salt Bae is opening an enormous leisure complex in Ibiza. A massive building is being constructed in the heart of Ibiza town which will consists of 51 luxury apartments and four restaurants. As Salt Bae says: it is one of his biggest projects to date. Construction work is already underway.
Between 2007 and 2010, Salt Bae worked in restaurants across the globe for free in order to gain experience as a cook and a restaurateur. After his return to Turkey, Bae opened his first restaurant in Istanbul in 2010, and later opened a Dubai restaurant in 2014. In January 2017 he became more widely known as Salt Bae through a series of viral internet videos and memes that show him "suavely" cutting meat and sprinkling salt, such as "Ottoman Steak", posted on his restaurant's Twitter account. The post was viewed 10 million times on Instagram, after which he was dubbed "Salt Bae" due to his peculiar way of sprinkling salt: dropping it from his fingertips to his forearm, and then onto the dish. Due to the viral exposure gained from this post, Bae's profile has expanded enormously and he has served a wide range of celebrities and politicians from around the world.
In December 2022, after the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final between Argentina and France, Bae was again the focus of criticism after joining the Argentine players on the field post-match, disturbing the players, biting their medals, and handling the trophy, a gesture reserved for winners and heads of state.