June 2 – Salt Bae, aka Nusret Gokce, the flamboyant Turkish chef known for seasoning steaks and schmoozing with the football elite, found himself on the wrong side of the velvet rope after the Champions League final in Munich.
Despite arriving on a UEFA bus, the restaurateur—famed for serving $2,000 steaks and rubbing shoulders with FIFA president Gianni Infantino—was reportedly denied entry to a post-match hotel party, much to his own surprise. Social media swiftly served up videos of the diminutive chef being politely but firmly escorted away by security.
Unfazed, Gokce claimed he was there not to party, but to greet the throngs of fans who wanted to see him. He insisted, “We arrived to the hotel in the UEFA bus because our thousands of fans wanted to see us there.” Channeling his signature flair, he brushed off the snub and added that there was no official party—just a misunderstanding and some confused door-watching.
According to Salt Bae, he was simply waiting for his ride when the chaos unfolded. “There was no organized invitation party in the middle,” he explained, “so the rumors about being excluded are baseless.”
This isn’t Salt Bae’s first brush with football fame. At the 2022 World Cup final, he sparked debate by appearing on the pitch and posing with the trophy alongside Argentina’s stars. His bond with Infantino is well-documented, with the FIFA boss praising him as a “legend” and celebrating their time together on social media.
Salt Bae, in turn, lauded Infantino as the “king of football” and credited him with uniting the world through the sport. Still, as this Munich incident shows, not even royal seasoning guarantees access everywhere. Maybe next time, Salt Bae’s best bet is to set up a grill curbside and let the fans—and cameras—come to him.
