

A little slice of Argentinean slow cooked goodness with a kiwi twist in Nelson. Come and experience love at first bite!
A little slice of Argentinean slow cooked goodness with a kiwi twist in Nelson. Come and experience love at first bite!
Matias is a trained chef with over 15 years experience who has worked in fine dining restaurants in his homeland Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and a Michelin starred restaurant in Spain. He is the inspiration behind Viva La Vaca and loves to work with his partner Chelsea, a kiwi, to create amazing food for their family, friends and clients.
Viva La Vaca started as a dream for Matias and Chelsea, when they first met in Australia. Whilst travelling throughout Southeast Asia, South America and New Zealand they developed the idea further and turned the dream into a reality when they returned to New Zealand to settle in 2015.
The food cart itself was custom built by Matias and a creative genius by the name of Sir Harold Brian Townsend (or Gunna as he's affectionately known) in Wellington. Matias designed the parilla based on BBQ's from his homeland, and Gunna took that idea and turned it into something brilliant. It was then brought down from Wellington to it's home in Nelson where Viva La Vaca had it's first day of trading in July 2015.
Viva La Vaca has a wood-fired parilla (BBQ), where tasty meals are slowly cooked over hot coals - the smoky flavour is awesome (if the chef does say so himself!). All products are sourced from local suppliers and meat is all free range and from sustainable sources. Meat and vegetarian options are available, with flavours to suit all taste buds. Everything can be made gluten free and the meat products are all free of preservatives and gluten.
Viva La Vaca is available to cater events, including weddings, birthdays and business functions, and can also be found at the many events held in the Top of the South. They promise a "Love at first bite" experience, and hope that you won't be disappointed!
Choose 3 options from the below:
You can also add salad options to accompany the food cart menu.
All salads are served with Modena balsamic vinaigrette, lemon and pepper vinaigrette, garlic aioli and local olive oil.
Whole legs of ham are also available at an extra cost. The ham is served with mustard sauce – with your choice of glaze: orange, cloves and whiskey; apricot and spices; or cranberry and maple. The ham is sourced from Havoc Pork in Dunedin who have only free range happy pigs and will be cooked and prepared by us from scratch.
All meats are served with Chimi Churri (spicy and non-spicy) and smoked paprika oil.
All salads are served with Modena balsamic vinaigrette, lemon and pepper vinaigrette, garlic aioli and local olive oil.
for nibbles or to compliment the main course
Viva La Vaca recently did the catering for our wedding of just under 100 people....it was AMAZING! The salads and veges were great but the star of the show was the meat which was spectacular with slow roasted honey glazed ham and of course their famous beef with chimichurri sauce. It all seemed to flow so easily and our guests LOVED it. We would highly recommend Matias and his team to anyone looking to cater a special event.... thank you guys you made our day! xo
Holy cow, on all fronts! Totally brought me back to my time in Argentina, but even better as EVERYTHING is homemade. Nelson is so lucky to have this gem of a couple and their delicious comida. Had the choripan and a chocolate alfajor for nostalgia sake (highly recommend both), and can't wait to go back as I'll be working my way down the menu. Also loved the community vibe, you guys clearly are passionate about your food and Nelson. Muchas gracias.