MGM and Chef Nic Fire Up the Third Edition of ‘MGM Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest’

MGM proactively curates a year-round calendar of entertainment mega events that showcases great creativity and originality. 

MGM and Nicholas ‘Chef Nic’ Tse are bringing the ‘MGM Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest’ back for its third edition, taking place on November 30 and December 1 at MGM COTAI, following the festival’s highly lauded previous runs. 

Multi-hyphenated artist Nicholas ‘Chef Nic’ Tse is leading his team of chefs in an exchange of culinary skills with MGM’s celebrity chefs to present more than 20 new culinary delights to audiences. 

Nine pop singers from the Hong Kong SAR, South Korea and Thailand will also be lighting up the festival stage, creating an entertaining and multi-sensorial experience that stimulates the palate, audio and visual senses for local and international festival attendees, while demonstrating the charm of Macao as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy.

This two-day outdoor rock music festival features five hours of festivities each day, and has a special pop-up in-store, from two famous Southeast Asian eateries, Singapore’s Keng Eng Kee (KEK) Seafood and Thailand’s popular dessert parlor After You. 

The world-class restaurant KEK Seafood was ranked on 2021’s Asia’s ’50 Best Restaurants – Essence of Asia’ list and was also recommended for nine consecutive years on the Michelin Guide. 

Their famous Signature Chili Crab, which was showcased on the Neftlix documentary ‘Street Food: Asia,’ will be brought to Macao for the first time at the Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest. Additionally, the viral dessert cafe After You with a devoted fan following will be serving up a tempting array of novel renditions of Thai-style desserts. 

Their signature ‘Milk Bun,’ which retails an annual average of 1.2 million boxes in Thailand, will debut at the festival with flavors that are new to Hong Kong and Macao. 

Nicholas Tse will be leading a team of six chefs: Danyi Gao, champion of the Chef Nic ‘Feng Wei’ culinary competition in 2017 and Beichuan Yang, one of the four top chefs on the show; Edward Voon, who was listed on the UK’s Restaurant Magazine as ‘Top 10 Most Innovative Chef’; Domino Dee, the Western cuisine chef who embraces healthy and clean cuisines; Amanda S., with her talent in creating innovative French-Japanese desserts, and Hilda Chan, the rising chef on the radar of Hong Kong’s gourmet industry. 

They will be collaborating with MGM’s elite culinary team, including: Tiago Filipe Coelho Reis from Grill 58; Sihui Pan from Aji; Yim Chan Tam, Executive Chef of Chinese Cuisine at MGM COTAI and at the helm of Chún, and Homan Tsui, Executive Chef of Chinese Cuisine at MGM MACAU and at the helm of the ‘Black Pearl One-Diamond Restaurant’ Imperial Court. 

With their distinctive and exceptional culinary skills, these chefs will be fusing diverse culinary elements from across the globe, presenting unique gastronomic delights that promise to wow with every bite.

As a multi-sensorial, genre-defying outdoor cultural extravaganza of music, leisure and gastronomy, the Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest promises to indulge attendees in a dazzling array of cuisines and experience the integration of creativity with delicacy on their tastebuds; and at the same time gathers an exciting line-up of Asian pop singers to fire up the early winter of Macao with their rock and roll performances. 

Besides Chef Nic himself, there is also Hallyu queen Jessica Jung, Thai pop duo SCRUBB from the mega-hit drama ‘2gether,’ as well as Hong Kong stars Tyson Yoshi, Gin Lee, Jeffrey Ngai, Yan Ting, JACE, Cloud Wan, and emerging girl group girl group VIVA. 

These top ten performers will be providing non-stop musical entertainment to attendees, and are sure to turn this festival into a smash-hit.

Hubert Wang, President and Chief Operating Officer of MGM China Holdings Limited, stated, “Rooted in our shared vision of ‘Creativity + Innovation,’ MGM collaborates with Chef Nic for the third time to present again the ‘MGM Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest’. This trendy, genre-defying and multi-sensorial cultural IP extravaganza fully leverages on Macao as an interactive platform for diverse cultural exchange, which brings international gastronomy and musical culture to the city. While it attracts individuals from all over the globe to visit Macao, this event is also positioned to further elevate our city’s two golden calling cards of ‘Creative City of Gastronomy’ and ‘City of Performing Arts.’”

Headliner and star chef Nicholas ‘Chef Nic’ Tse said, “In the blink of an eye, the Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest has come to its third edition. Each time, I hope to outdo our previous run by infusing novel elements and exploring different dimensions of culture and creativity, giving all our attendees a pleasurable and unforgettable experience. I hope that the Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest will become a platform for encouraging exploration and innovation, and become a cultural icon in the city of Macao.”

The Chef Nic Gastronomusic Fest will take place from 30 November to 1 December on MGM COTAI’s first-floor podium. 

Tickets go on sale from 21 October on MGM’s official website, with prices starting from MOP888. For more information, please visit https://www.mgm.mo/en/cotai/entertainment/gastronomusicfest2024.