[hanwenn]

Both David Chang and his staff are ridiculous.

Different parts of the bird take different times to cook, so for food quality, cooking a bird as a whole makes no sense: either the breasts are overcooked, or the thighs are undercooked. There is just one reason, which is that cooking the animal whole makes for an arresting presentation. Then, you'd carve the animal tableside (like is done for Peking duck, see one of the other comments).

This requires having waitstaff that can carve a bird or having cooks that are presentable to the guests, and extra space in the dining room.

Clearly, David Chang is taking a shortcut already by carving the chicken in the kitchen.