Eat to the beat at Hong Kong’s first Feeding Frenzy fundraiser

Feeding Frenzy, a culinary concert that brings together musicians, chefs and eager eaters, will make its Asian premiere in Hong Kong this weekend. Conceived by New York-based artist and composer Fast Forward , Feeding Frenzy has been performed in countries such as Germany, Finland and Norway.

The fundraising event is presented by soundpocket and Contemporary Musiking Hong Kong and it will not be an orderly affair where diners silently enjoy their food while appreciating the live music. Like in any reality TV cooking competition, in the centre of the stage is a ticking clock. The four musicians will receive musical instructions a week before the concert and it will come in the form of a timeline with text instructions such as “raise the volume” and “eat”. The melody, the sounds to make and instruments to use are left entirely up to the musicians.

“As a musician, I’m thinking how I can eat differently from the perspective of sounds,” says Steve Hui Ngo-shan, a multidisciplinary artist who will be playing electronic music at the culinary concert.

And it will be quite a challenge for the chefs as well. “We only have 90 minutes to cook 10 dishes. That’s only nine minutes for each. There’s always the chance we don’t complete all the dishes in the end,” says Maurice Lai Yu-man, the restaurant manager of the two Michelin-starred Tim’s Kitchen Hong Kong.

Four cooks will be taking part in this Saturday’s event.