Salt Bae. End stage capitalism or brilliant grifting on the rich??

[RozHuntleysLeftHand]

I am having a really, really shit time atm, before anyone says "Don't you have anything better to worry about?" So yes, yes I do have much more important things to worry about, but this has fascinated me.

I did some reading and I believe the guy is an immigrants son who got into butchery (happy to be corrected!). Which is why I'm maybe thinking he's found a way of basically ripping rich people out of thousands of pounds for salty steak and overpriced wine.

The money people spend in this place would literally pay my bills for a year!

Part of me thinks if I could charge people £30,000 for steak and drinks I would, and the other thinks the deliberate conspicuous consumption and gross capitalism "showing off" is horrible while people just down the road are relying on food banks.

What do you lot think?

I think I can't be bothered to Google 'Salt Bae' to find out what you're talking about.

He’s a celebrity chef, they all charge stupid prices.

I think fair play to him and all these people can afford it so why not.

Making the most out of his 5 minutes, why not. He's ripping off people that can afford it, if he was peddling cheap tatt on a mass scale I'd think differently. If you have that much money to spend on one dinner you deserve to look stupid doing it.

It's an incredibly expensive steak restaurant.
Like £1,000 for a steak.

Though I just did some extra googling and there are stories saying he pays his kitchen staff less than the cost of one corn on the cob per hour.....so I'm leaning towards arsehole grifter.

Hea a CF but I have a choice not to get ripped off.. He's not particularly talented at cooking so he's just taking the initiative now to take the money and run. Fair play

It would depend on how he paid his staff and if, as you say, he doesn't pay them well he's just an arsehole. If he passed the money on I could regard him as a latter day Robin Hood.

@RuggerHug

Making the most out of his 5 minutes, why not. He's ripping off people that can afford it, if he was peddling cheap tatt on a mass scale I'd think differently. If you have that much money to spend on one dinner you deserve to look stupid doing it.

Yeah, maybe?

And the people who have filmed themselves there are the very definition of up themselves hipsters/influencers, so I guess if I could spend even a few months making shitloads of money out of self obsessed, self important idiots I might??

Jay Rayner did a brilliant takedown

www.theguardian.com/food/2021/oct/17/jay-rayner-restaurant-review-kebab-kid-london-take-away-as-a-cult-nusr-et-steakhouse

@CaptainMyCaptain

It would depend on how he paid his staff and if, as you say, he doesn't pay them well he's just an arsehole. If he passed the money on I could regard him as a latter day Robin Hood.

It's only a couple of articles that came up. But I agree with this.

But what I don't get is, even if I had £30,000 to spend on one meal, I just....wouldn't?!

Like you can get fantastic steak in London for £150 a head (I can't afford that either by the way!)

Maybe I just don't have the right mindset for any of this?

www.theguardian.com/food/2021/nov/01/restaurant-offers-budget-version-of-salt-bae-gold-covered-steak

I liked this response from a couple of northern restaurants!

Yes, he’s a cheeky fucker but I totally admire that he’s managing to con the ‘I am considerably richer than you’ brigade into forking out £1000+ for a steak. Let them get on with it. It’s creating employment and people can spend their money on whatever they see fit.

Although I’ve no idea why someone would want a gold covered steak anyway. Sounds hideous and like it’d play havoc with your digestive system.

I find this fascinating too OP and am torn like you. It’s the most disgusting display of wealth and consumerism and exclusion - people who pay the money for this “experience” are doing so to demonstrate that they can. If I had that much money I’d be ashamed to spend it like that. I’d also feel like a prize idiot if I had to sit and watch the knife banging salt trickling display at my table with a fixed grin on my face.

But no one’s forcing them and if he’s found a way to part idiots from their money then good on him. It would be nice if it turns out it’s all a massive piece of performance art and in a few months he’ll donate it all to charity. I hope he does pay his staff properly too.

[quote LovelaceBiggWither]Jay Rayner did a brilliant takedown

www.theguardian.com/food/2021/oct/17/jay-rayner-restaurant-review-kebab-kid-london-take-away-as-a-cult-nusr-et-steakhouse[/quote]
OMFG just read that! I love Jay Rayner!

My favourite quote from that article pretty much sums it up....

A few years ago, a video of his signature steak salting move went viral. He was pictured in a tight white T-shirt and dark glasses, sprinkling salt down his muscular forearm as if proving he could both season the beef and pop an ovary in one move. Imagine Rod Hull’s Emu, bare naked and disgracing himself by vomiting down his own neck. Salt Bae, which means Salt Baby, was born. He now has 38m followers on Instagram. If you were looking for something to illustrate the male terror of sexual inadequacy, a Salt Bae video would serve beautifully. He wields knives. He likes to be photographed bare-chested.

Brilliant - the male terror of sexual inadequacy - the cause of many of the world’s ills!

It's a typical Emperor's New Clothes phenomenon.

I can afford 'fine dinning' though I've never been big on it, love a good steak but the idea of going there and paying his prices for the pleasure-
Don't make me fucking laugh

Tacky as hell!!! So revolting 🤢

Steak was a few hundred - the wine on the 30k bill was about 10k a bottle and that's pretty standard for that wine in a restaurant.

The wine is beautiful, ruined with his overpriced and fairly average steak.

@Szyz2020

I find this fascinating too OP and am torn like you. It’s the most disgusting display of wealth and consumerism and exclusion - people who pay the money for this “experience” are doing so to demonstrate that they can. If I had that much money I’d be ashamed to spend it like that. I’d also feel like a prize idiot if I had to sit and watch the knife banging salt trickling display at my table with a fixed grin on my face.

But no one’s forcing them and if he’s found a way to part idiots from their money then good on him. It would be nice if it turns out it’s all a massive piece of performance art and in a few months he’ll donate it all to charity. I hope he does pay his staff properly too.

And again I agree with all of this.

It's such a symptom of our times I guess??

If I could set myself up for life financially by dramatic seasoning for twats I'd probably even smile while doing it😄

He's a very experienced butcher and knows his meat. He has great investors who knows there's a audience out there that are willing to pay ££££'s worth of food and drinks, remember he comes from a very very poor background. Combining his experience, theatrical ID and his investors knowledge- he is making making a lot of money for himself and his investors. Don't think for one minute he gets all this money for himself only. He has to divide it with his shareholders, pay taxes, rent in Knightsbridge, staff, council etc and stock and many other things you and I have no idea about. If we wasn't worth to be invested in, he wouldn't be in this position today.

If he's using ethically produced meat and paying all of his staff properly then absolutely fair play to the man for parting fools and their money! I don't know if he does though and don't care to research.

Of course it's feeding into excessive consumerism and social media obsession but perhaps it'll be a tipping point, how could this be topped in terms of ostentation? It also shines a light on the shallowness of that world, all that gold leaf can't taste or feel brilliant, neither does it serve any purpose or represent any meaning or culture, it is just sheer spending for the sake of spending and being seen to do so.

I’ve read that he breezes into town, performs at his newest restaurant, then disappears to the next new one, never to be seen again (it’s a chain).

We went and it was a fantastic evening! The media spin it in a certain way. We didn’t spend anywhere near £1000!!!