Our StoryThe Boss Behind the Fire
El Jefe means “The Boss” in Spanish. But around here, the real boss is the fire — and Nico is the man who tends it.
From Uruguay, With Fire
Nico grew up in Uruguay, where the asado isn’t just a way of cooking — it’s a way of gathering. Sunday afternoons around the parrilla, the smell of wood smoke, chorizos sizzling over embers: that’s the flavour memory El Jefe is built on.
A trained chef with over 15 years of kitchen experience, Nico started crafting his own sausages in 2015 — small batches, 100% natural ingredients, no fillers, no preservatives, no shortcuts. What began as a passion project became El Jefe Meats in 2020, when he set up the butchery counter and fired up the smoker at Aviation Ave, Mount Maunganui.
Since making New Zealand home, Nico has stayed true to the old fashioned way: hand-tied chorizos in Uruguayan, Argentinian and Chilean styles, house-cured bacon, house-smoked patties, and locally sourced, PigCare-certified pork from farms with high welfare standards.
PigCare™ Accredited PorkWhat El Jefe Stands For
Fire First
Everything worth eating passes through smoke. Our smoker runs the old fashioned way — low, slow and honest.
100% Natural
Small batches, no fillers, no preservatives. Locally sourced meat from New Zealand farms with high welfare standards, PigCare certified.
Made to Gather
In Uruguay the asado brings everyone to the table. From lunchtime burgers to full-service catering, that's what we recreate here in the Mount.
The Journey So Far
Uruguay
Nico grows up around the family parrilla and trains as a chef, cooking professionally for over 15 years.
2015
The first hand-tied sausages. What starts as weekend batches for friends quickly earns a reputation.
2020
El Jefe Meats opens at 3/60 Aviation Ave, Mount Maunganui — artisan butchery, smoked burgers and Latin American BBQ.
Today
Feeding the Mount from the smoker Tuesday to Saturday, stocking home parrillas from the butchery counter, and catering across the Bay of Plenty.
Come Say Hola
Find us at 3/60 Aviation Ave, Mount Maunganui — Tuesday to Friday 9am–3pm, Saturday 9am–2pm. Grab a burger, stock the freezer, or talk to Nico about your next asado.