The family's finances forced him to leave school in the sixth grade (aged 11–12) to work as a butcher's apprentice in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul.

[5] Gökçe visited several countries, including Argentina and the United States, between 2007 and 2010, where he worked in local restaurants for free in order to gain experience as a cook and a restaurateur.

[8] Due to the viral exposure gained from this post, Gökçe's profile has expanded enormously and he has served a wide range of celebrities and politicians from around the world.

[12] Other critics described the dishes as "over-salted as they are overpriced",[14] the "meat was tough with globs of fat and gristle, and severely lacking in flavor",[15] and that "finishing a meal there constitutes some kind of personal victory over your own body and instincts and mouth".

[20] In September 2018, Czech internet personality Týnuš Třešničková became a victim of a failed fire show in the Nusr-Et steakhouse in Istanbul, resulting in 35% total body surface area burns.

"[22] In late September 2020, his restaurant in Boston was ordered to close by public health officials several days after it opened due to violations of COVID-19 safety standards.

[28][29] In February 2024, it was reported that Gökçe's Knightsbridge restaurant in London, which serves steaks priced at almost £700, was turning off the heating while pre-tax profits rose 44% to almost £3.3m in 2022 as turnover soared almost 66% to £13.6m.

[34] Gökçe stated on Instagram that he had built a library, a guest house, a mosque, an English education center, and a computer laboratory there.