The Surprisingly Interesting Story Behind Chicken McNuggets
It involves an elite French chef, a chicken shortage, and David Letterman…
“It’s June 1981, and the year is just about half over, and I believe that, regardless of what happens from here on out, historians will recount 1981 as the year McDonald’s introduced Chicken McNuggets. Now, I think so. Let’s assume for a minute that there is a portion of the chicken anatomy that can accurately be described as nuggets. Is this something you want to eat, huh?”
Ouch. Those were the words spoken by David Letterman on the Tonight Show June 4th, 1981. He was summing up this strange new snack-type creation that fast-food giant McDonald’s had just put out. Little did he know, many people would think the same thing, but this would also be one of the most popular fast-food items in history.
This is a look back on the history of Chicken McNuggets.
How Did Chicken McNuggets Come To Be?
Even though Chicken McNuggets are an 80s food, our story begins in the late 70s with Keystone Foods. The idea for a small bite-size piece of processed chicken wrapped in a batter and deep-fried came from a man named Herb Lotman.
Herb was the founder of Keystone Foods, which is a Brazilian food processing company. Herbs story is…
