How Chefs Are Elevating the Chicken Nugget Into Fine Dining Fame

Dino nuggets, caviar, and truffle: How chefs are reinventing a classic

Remember when chicken nuggets were just a drive-thru snack or a freezer staple from childhood? Fast forward to today, and chefs across the country are giving this humble comfort food a jaw-dropping glow-up—think caviar crowns, truffle shavings, and house-made sauces served on fine china. The nugget has officially entered its luxury era.

At restaurants like Burdell in Oakland, what lands on the plate looks familiar but tastes like nothing you’d find in a fast food box. Chef Geoff Davis has turned the nugget into an art form, creating a house-made version worthy of caviar service. But making a nugget that hits both nostalgia and fine-dining standards is no small feat. Davis starts by marinating chicken thighs in buttermilk and house pickle spices overnight, then grinds them at two different textures. The mixture gets blended with a creamy chicken mousseline and carefully piped into perfect shapes—a labor-intensive process that pays off with a bite that’s both comforting and elevated.

Burdell Oakland's Reserve Caviar & 6 Piece Chicken Nuggets Photo: Yelp; Paula T.

But what even is a chicken nugget? Turns out, it’s not as simple as “fried chicken in a small shape.” Davis explains that true nuggets have a smooth, consistent interior texture—a hallmark of fast-food icons like McDonald’s. And achieving that signature feel from scratch takes technique, precision, and more patience than you'd think.

New Year's Eve Special Dino Shaped Nuggets with Beurre Blanc Mayo and Cajun Bowfin Caviar Photo: Turkey and the Wolf's Instagram

In New Orleans, Turkey and the Wolf chef Andrew Moorman embraced childhood nostalgia even harder, debuting dinosaur-shaped nuggets for a special New Year’s Eve menu. His version involved brining chicken, blending it to a uniform texture, sous vide cooking it into flat sheets, then cutting out adorable dino shapes. Fried to order and topped with beurre blanc mayo, cured egg yolk, and a pop of caviar, these weren’t just playful—they were an edible wink at the past wrapped in culinary finesse.

Coqodaq Chicken Nuggets with Trout Roe, Truffle, Golden Daurenki Caviar Photo: Coqodaq

And then there’s Coqodaq in New York, where the chicken nugget isn’t just a side dish—it’s a statement. Their nugget arrives topped with everything from trout roe to truffle, costing up to $30 a piece. Chef SK Kim leaned into the nugget’s inherently approachable vibe while also finding a sustainable way to use leftover chicken trimmings from their fried chicken menu. The result? A viral sensation splashed all over TikTok and Instagram feeds, proving that sometimes the simplest foods can become the most photographed.

What makes this trend resonate? It’s the beautiful contradiction: pairing something playful and familiar with luxury ingredients that feel indulgent yet accessible. In a food world obsessed with nostalgia and shareability, the chicken nugget’s fine-dining reinvention feels perfectly on trend. Because at the end of the day, whether topped with caviar or dunked in ketchup, a nugget still delivers that irresistible, satisfying bite we’ve loved since childhood.

Would you try a $30 nugget—or do you still swear by the drive-thru?