(CNN)Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro feasted on pricey steaks and smoked cigars at a “Salt Bae” restaurant in Istanbul on Monday, drawing ire and condemnation back home, where an economy spiraling toward collapse has triggered a food crisis.
Videos posted to Twitter and Instagram by the Turkish celebrity chef Nusret Gökçe, known as Salt Bae for his signature style of seasoning steaks, show Maduro dining with his wife, Cilia Flores, as Gökçe dramatically slices meat at their table while gyrating his hips. Another clip captures Maduro puffing on a cigar as the couple receives T-shirts screen-printed with Gökçe’s likeness sprinkling salt.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime moment,” Maduro can be heard saying to fellow diners.
