8 December, 2025

Nothing else matters when cooking for Metallica

Pedal to the metal… Luis Cabrera and another caterer at work on the meal production line at Eden Park in the run-up to the Metallica concert which drew 55,000 fans on 19 November.

Metallica’s sold-out concert at Eden Park last month was fuelled by food from local chef and margarita producer Luis Cabrera.
Devonport resident Cabrera led a team of about a dozen people who cooked some 250 meals for the band and crew leading up to the 19 November show.
Cabrera ran two successful Mexican restaurants in downtown Auckland until Covid.
More recently he’s been concentrating on his Bessos Margarita business, but his reputation as a top celebrity chef endures.

An example of the menu requirements for the band and crew ahead of the gig.

In the past, he’s cooked for US President Barack Obama during a state visit to New Zealand, and grunge rock pioneers Pearl Jam.
A friend who organises catering for VIPs lined him up for the Metallica gig.
On the Sunday before the Wednesday show, Cabrera and his team cooked “breakfast, lunch and dinner” at the Eden Park kitchen for the Metallica entourage – a requested set menu of buffet-style food. “But you could do it in your own style.”
The cook-up set up the band with food for the subsequent days of rehearsals and sound checks.
The band ate with the rest of the crew and “were totally chill – you wouldn’t believe they were superstars”.
Cabrera especially enjoyed meeting Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, who has Mexican heritage.
The actual cooking took around 10 hours. “You don’t even realise the time – it goes by so fast.”
However, keen tennis player Cabrera said the next day his back felt like he had “played five sets – at the Australian Open”.
With all the cooking done, Cabrera and wife Cecilia had free tickets to the concert, with backstage passes to mix and mingle with the band.