Inside the Michelin-starred Vancouver restaurant offering diners a surreal taste of sound | Daily Hive

Musician and biologist Tarun Nayar, a.k.a. Modern Biology

What if you could hear the sound of your food, and it changed how it tasted?

We’ve never fancied ourselves anything close to scientists, but we were recently part of an intriguing experiment combining food and sound that posed this question, and it sure made us feel like some amateur researchers.

Burdock & Co, known for its Michelin-starred, modern Pacific Northwest cuisine, is giving diners more to chew on than ever before thanks to its immersive dinner event, Taste Sound.

Andrechandp

The 32-seat Mount Pleasant restaurant recently welcomed world-renowned musician and biologist Tarun Nayar, a.k.a. Modern Biology, for an edition of the experience, and we got the chance to see, hear, and taste it firsthand.

With award-winning Chef Andrea Carlson’s always-creative cuisine in our future, we were excited already. Add Nayar’s talent of turning the bioelectric activity of plants and mushrooms into sound, and we were seriously interested.

How Does It Work?

Hanna McLean/Dished

The evening kicked off with a simple exercise. We put on the wireless headphones waiting for us at our seats, and then went from there. A piece of chicory and a slice of apple landed in front of each of us.

We took a bite of the chicory as we normally would, examined the flavour, and then went in for seconds as Nayar, positioned near the front window of the Main Street restaurant, played the electrical impulses of the plant from his deck. The initial sound became beat-like and evolved into a rhythm that played through our headphones as we ate.

We noted the change in taste. Suddenly, the chicory’s bitterness intensified upon the second bite.

“That’s weird” is really what went through our heads. But also so cool…it was something new for sure.

If we were more up to speed on the science, we might have already known that flavour sensations can differ depending on sounds. This is something that this meal reinforced in a super creative way. Specifically, high frequencies are associated with sweetness, and low frequencies tend to bring out bitterness in food.

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All the attendees did the same with our apples next, and led by Nayar, communicated by show of hands who tasted what difference when the sound was playing through their headphones. Sour? Salty? Umami? Nothing? These were a few of the options to choose from.

There were reactions of surprise and delight all around the dining room.

This was the appetizer and gradual setup for getting the most out of the rest of the evening.

Tuning Into Taste

Mark Vonesch

From there, we were asked to put our headphones on at certain times as a group to hear the sound of certain produce as we dined. Without giving it all away, we heard the punchy, vibrant frequency of a pear, something we didn’t think we’d ever be writing about, that’s for sure.

We still had ample time to chat and enjoy the meal with and without our headphones on; the team wove in the experience and education throughout the four-course dinner seamlessly.

We’d honestly compare parts of it to a yoga class. People sat with their headphones on, eyes closed, and head back at a Michelin-starred restaurant. That was a first for us.

This dinner serves as a reminder that the world is a living, breathing thing, and that our food is connected to everything. Considering how important sustainability is to Burdock & Co, known for its comprehensive composting, no-waste delivery, and upcycled interior design, it’s the perfect backdrop to this one-of-a-kind meal.

Taste Sound is truly an unforgettable experience if you’re up for something different.

If you’re curious, the next dinners in Vancouver will take place on September 25 and November 20, 2025.

Burdock & Co

Address: 2702 Main Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-879-0077

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