It doesn't sound like any kind of unusual behaviour, necessarily..... not that that means that it's not frustrating for you!! It seems like they are just feeding off of each other, energy-wise. And the more wound up you get, the more they are getting the reactions that they are looking for.
I would give them little to no emotional reaction outside of firmly restating the rules ("NO, we do NOT throw food, hit, make messes on purpose, etc").
I completely agree with all of playfelt's suggestions. If they are not respecting your expectations (as long as you believe that those expectations are reasonable) then you limit what they have access to/ can do. A food thrower doesn't get an entire plate full of food at once, and a mess-maker doesn't have unlimited toys to get into. It may mean you stick pretty close to them for a little while, until this "lovely" phase passes.
Good luck, and stay patient!!