“When customers come in, he will put his glasses on"
A takeaway chef is pulling in food fans after mimicking celebrity chef Salt Bae.
Razu Kamali, head chef at Bank Grill in Oldham, has won thousands of followers by appearing as Salt Bahi in videos mimicking his celebrity counterpart.
The Bangladesh-born head chef is often styled wearing black gloves and round sunglasses just like the Turkish chef.
And Salt Bahi, which means ‘salt brother’ in Bengali, even copies Salt Bae’s flamboyant seasoning technique, sprinkling sesame seeds over steaks rather than salt.
Social media videos feature the cooking process of Bank Grill’s meals with Salt Bahi’s extra touches as staff occasionally dance in the kitchen.
The popularity of the videos has seen customers flocking to the takeaway.
Takeaway boss Tayyab Ali said: “It’s done so well for us. We have had more than 20 million views and it’s helped us attract new customers.”
He and Razu came up with the Salt Bahi idea during lockdown to give their customers something to smile about.
Tayyab continued: “We have an open kitchen so you can see all the food being prepared and meet him.
“When customers come in, he will put his glasses on and get into character and have a picture with them.”
Bank Grill offers a variety of food including steak. Its speciality Mix Mashup dish is priced at £15.95, a far cheaper deal than some of the dishes at Salt Bae’s chain of Nusr-Et Steakhouse restaurants.
Some of the steaks are hundreds of pounds, with the Golden Giant Tomahawk steak costing a whopping £1,450.
His gold-coated steaks have attracted attention, with pictures of meat wrapped in 24-karat gold.
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Salt Bae, whose real name is Nusret Gökçe, has previously been criticised for serving overpriced food at the Knightsbridge venue.
In one case, a group of guests racked up a £37,000 bill, which featured elaborate prices for some of the items. This included £600 for dessert and a can of Red Bull costing £11.
Nusret Gökçe rose to viral fame back in 2017 for his unusual meat seasoning technique where he lets salt run down his elbow onto freshly cooked steak.
He was reported to have made £7 million in sales in the first four months.
Nusret’s meat seasoning technique has become part of the experience, with his restaurants being a hit among celebrities and Instagram influencers.
Many pose on the restaurant’s standout stairs and showcase the expensive dishes.
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