Engagement chicken facts for kids
Engagement Chicken is a special roast chicken dish that tastes like lemon and herbs. It's famous because many people believe it helps boyfriends decide to propose marriage!
How It Started
The idea for Engagement Chicken came from Kim Bonnell, who worked as a fashion editor at Glamour Magazine. She created the recipe after a trip to Italy.
In 1982, Kim shared her recipe with a co-worker named Kathy Suder. Kathy made the chicken for her boyfriend, and soon after, they got engaged! The recipe became popular in the office, and three more women who cooked the dish for their boyfriends also received marriage proposals.
Years later, in 2003, the editor-in-chief of Glamour, Cindi Leive, heard these stories. She decided to call the recipe "Engagement Chicken" and printed it in the magazine that December. After the recipe was published, Glamour magazine started getting many letters from women. They all claimed their boyfriends proposed shortly after eating the dish. The magazine says that about 70 couples have gotten married after the women cooked this chicken for their partners.
Engagement Chicken in the News
The same month the recipe appeared in Glamour magazine, Beth Ostrosky cooked the dish for her boyfriend, Howard Stern. Howard Stern is a well-known radio host. The next day, he talked about the chicken on his radio show. His co-hosts joked that "the trap had been set," meaning they thought Beth was trying to get him to propose.
A listener called into the show and told Howard that the dish he described was called "Engagement Chicken" and was in Glamour magazine. Howard then called Beth on air. Beth said she just wanted to make the dish because it looked tasty and easy. But she also mentioned how romantic Howard became while they were eating dinner. Two years later, Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky became engaged.
The Engagement Chicken recipe has also been shown on other popular TV shows. These include Today Show, Martha, Barefoot Contessa, and Good Morning America.
