First, it was the cronut, then the sushi donut, and now the donug? Yep, you heard it right. The donug – a chicken nugget and doughnut combination – is on the verge of taking over the food world. Already being considered the ultimate hangover food, the donug is the creation of Crag Carrick, a Scottish native, who originally came up with the idea for an exhibit at a food festival in Melbourne. His wife, Rachel Dutton, a chef of 15 years, developed the prototype for the festival and both found it to be an instant hit among festival goers.
The Donug
The donug is, basically, a chicken nugget shaped like a doughnut, except that “there’s nothing sweet about it,” says Carrick to SmartCompany. He says that it’s “all savory… 98 percent chicken that has our unique and top-secret spice mix.”
The food hybrid is made of free-range chicken, topped with cornflakes and panko crumb, and deep fried to perfection. You can then top it off with one of three sauces: either a cheesy Dijon béchamel, a golden Japanese curry with mozzarella or a hot chili sauce. And if you aren’t feeling the sauces, you can always get it served plain.
Shark Tank Australia
After selling over 1,000 donugs for $9 a pop at the food festival, Carrick and Dutton found that there was a real appetite for the product. He went on to claim the name and develop the brand, eventually landing a spot on Shark Tank Australia. Investor, Janine Allis, found the product to be appetizing and met his asking price of $100,000 AUD (about $70,000 USD) at a 20% stake.
Carrick plans to use the investment to start mass producing the product and taking it worldwide. “It’s about getting Donugs sold at every sporting ground, every service station, every fish and chip shop,” he told Shark Tank. “I want this to be the crazy new food trend coming out of Melbourne.”
For now, you can only get the donug in Melbourne, with plans to hit the UK market soon. And who knows when it’ll be coming to the US, I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Until then, I’ll be saving up to buy my plane ticket to the Land Down Under.
#SpoonTip: You can sign up for news updates at www.loveadonug.com and see when donugs are ‘coming to an eatery near you.’