Why Are These Chickens Eating Better Than You?

Want to make your chicken taste extra delicious? You might need to feed it gourmet cuisine from some of New York City’s finest restaurants.

At least that’s what several elite chefs are hoping.

According to The New York Times, several high-end eateries, including Per Se, Daniel, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern and David Burke Townhouse, have taken on a gourmet experiment of sorts by feeding a select group of chickens scraps from their establishments. This week, diners will be able to feast on the birds at the very restaurants that fattened them up.

The goal? To rediscover "what chicken should taste like," the Times learned from Ariane Daguin, the businesswoman backing the idea.

“When I tasted it, I was like, ‘Whoa,’" chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten told the paper. Fellow chef Daniel Humm reportedly consumed an entire chicken in one sitting.

The chickens, a French breed not commonly found in the U.S., live in a spacious coop, where they savor “pans of bread soaked in fresh milk, and white buckets full of leafy trimmings that would make a tremendous tossed salad,” the Times writes.

Daguin, who has put $250,000 into the experiment, plans on taking things a step further, separating the chickens into different groups where they will feed on the scraps from each restaurant. A Gramercy Park Tavern bird will be fed scraps from Gramercy Park Tavern, for example.

Chef David Burke said he views the experiment as “a weird competition” between the restaurants.

“It’s like, ‘My chicken eats better than yours,’” said Burke. “At least that’s how I’m looking at it. I’m going to spoil my chicken like a pet."