Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly opening a new Turkish restaurant in London with TikTok-famous celebrity chef Ozdemir Burak.
Burak, who is better known by his nickname CZN Burak, gained fame for posting videos of himself smiling while cooking vast amounts of food and currently has more than 57.1 million followers on the social media platform.
The football legend was pictured posing with the Turkish chef in 2020. Burak is also a fan of other great footballers and has been photographed with the likes of Brazil’s Ronaldinho and Argentine footballer Lionel Messi.
Turkish publicationThe Daily Sabah first reported on the 27-year-old restaurateur’s future plans with Ronaldo and quoted Burak as saying that the new restaurant is planned for November.
He announced the venture at a digital entrepreneurship event held by the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality this week and said: “We will open a venue in London in partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo. We are not revealing this too much, because we were supposed to make a beautiful surprise at the opening.”
Burak currently owns the Hatay Civilisations Table group of restaurants, which oversees five restaurant branches in Istanbul, Turkey, Dubai and Tajikstan, as well as the chain CZN Burak.
He also recently opened a burger joint called Burak Burger in Dubai.
This will not be Ronaldo’s first foray into the restaurant industry, having opened a Japanese-Mediterranean restaurant imported from Ibiza in 2018.
However, the restaurant, called Zela, closed less than two years after opening in Covent Garden.
According to Eater, Burak’s London restaurant may take up a site near Baker Street in north-west London, which is currently occupied by another Turkish restaurant, Ishtar.
The Turkish celebrity chef’s move shadows that of Nusret Gokce, better known as Salt Bae, who opened his London steakhouse in September last year.
Gokce, who gained fame after a meme of him sprinkling salt on a steak went viral in 2017, faced criticism for charging extravagant prices, including £630 for a gold-covered tomahawk steak.
The Independent has contacted Ronaldo’s representative for comment.
