COOKED — the series of barbecuing events taking over Fed Square — is one of the main highlights of this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival, which is centred around food and art. From Tuesday, October 1–Sunday, October 20, the public square will be transformed with the installation of a temporary amphitheatre centred around a communal grill. Here, you can cook along with a bunch of chefs, artists and comedians who will be performing a mixture of paid and free performances. It kicks off on Tuesday, October 1, with the free event Seasoning the Grill. For this one, First Nations artists light up the public barbecue for an evening of smoke, dance, DJs, art and great eats. Traditional and contemporary practices of food and art come together for this one-off performance. Then COOKED: Grill Prive draws the curtains and sets the table for an absurd season of dinners hosted by dancer, choreographer and filmmaker Harrison Ritchie Jones. For more details on all the different COOKED performances, check out the festival's website.
