Christmas Party Catering Melbourne 2026: Hallacas, Pasteles & Latin Festive Menus

In Venezuela and Colombia, Christmas doesn't start with a tree. It starts in the kitchen. Whole families gather in December to make the dishes that only appear once a year, and the smell of plantain leaves on the stove means the season has arrived.

This year, bring that Christmas to your Melbourne table. Alongside our hot buffets and finger food, La Charito is cooking two of Latin America's most loved festive dishes from Chef Carmen's family recipes: Venezuelan hallacas and Colombian pasteles.

Venezuelan Hallacas: The Heart of a Venezuelan Christmas

If you've shared Christmas with a Venezuelan family, you've had an hallaca. It is the dish of the season, and no Venezuelan Christmas table is complete without one.

An hallaca is a parcel of soft corn dough, coloured golden with onoto (annatto), wrapped around a slow-cooked guiso of beef, pork and chicken. It's finished with the traditional garnish of olives, raisins and capers, folded inside plantain leaves, tied with string and boiled until the dough is tender and the filling is rich and fragrant.

Making hallacas is slow work. Traditionally it takes a whole family a whole day, which is exactly why they're saved for Christmas, and why so many Venezuelans in Melbourne miss them most at this time of year.

How they're served: unwrap the leaf and eat warm. At home in Venezuela an hallaca sits on the Christmas plate beside pan de jamón, ensalada de gallina and pernil, but an hallaca on its own is a celebration.

Colombian Pasteles: A Christmas Favourite From the Coast

On Colombia's Caribbean coast, Christmas means pasteles. Seasoned rice is cooked with pork, chicken and vegetables, then wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled, so every parcel comes out moist, savoury and full of flavour.

Like hallacas, pasteles are a labour of love made for sharing, and they're a perfect way to bring a Colombian Christmas to the office or the family table.

Christmas Specials: Ordering Hallacas and Pasteles

• For the office: add them to the team Christmas lunch, alongside the Abuela Feast, for a festive dish your team won't have had before
• For client gifts: a box of hand-made hallacas is a Christmas gift your clients won't get from anyone else
• For family Christmas: order hallacas and pasteles to share around the table, on their own or alongside a hot buffet

Hallaca pre-orders are open now. Hallacas start from $20 each, and there's no cut-off date: request a quote with how many you'd like and when, and we'll confirm your collection or delivery. Ask us for pastel pricing in the same request, and for Net 30 invoicing if you're ordering on an approved corporate account. Both are made by hand from scratch.

Dietary note: our hallacas are gluten-free. They're made with corn dough, a beef, pork and chicken guiso and plantain leaves, with no wheat. Pasteles are built on rice rather than wheat; if any of your guests are coeliac, tell us when you order and we'll confirm every ingredient. Everything on our standard catering menu except the tequeños is naturally gluten-free.

Why Latin American Food Wins at Christmas

• It's festive by nature — bold colours, sharing plates and flavours that bring people together
• It suits a Melbourne summer Christmas — hot buffets and hand-held bites work as well in a backyard or a park as they do in the boardroom
• It's almost all gluten-free — only the tequeños contain wheat, so most GF guests need no separate meal
• It's different — your team has had sandwiches and sushi platters at every Christmas party for years. Give them something they'll remember.

Christmas Party Menu Ideas

Option 1: The Casual Office Party (from $25 per person)

La Charito's Latin Lunchbox — individual boxes for desk-friendly or park celebrations.

Each box includes:

• A generously stuffed arepa (choose chicken, beef or black bean)
• Baked plantains
• Mini alfajor cookie

Best for: office lunches, team celebrations, casual end-of-year gatherings

Option 2: The Team Feast (from $35 per person)

La Charito's Abuela Feast — hot chafing dishes set up as a buffet.

The menu:

• Carne mechada (slow-cooked shredded beef)
• Turmeric rice
• Black beans
• Guasacaca (avocado sauce)
• Fresh arepas

Best for: department celebrations, team dinners, sit-down end-of-year lunches

Option 3: The Cocktail Party (from $4 per piece)

La Charito's Fiesta Bites — boxes of 20 premium tequeños and mini empanadas. See our finger food catering for more ideas.

Best for: standing cocktail parties, after-work celebrations, networking events

Option 4: The Latin Christmas Table

Start with Fiesta Bites as guests arrive, serve the Abuela Feast as the main event, and add hallacas and pasteles as the festive centrepiece. It's the closest thing to a Venezuelan or Colombian family Christmas you'll find in Melbourne.

Christmas Catering Checklist

1. Set your budget — our main packages run $25–$35 per person
2. Confirm your headcount by late November
3. Survey dietary needs — or choose a naturally gluten-free caterer and skip the survey
4. Book your venue — or use your office or backyard with drop-off catering
5. Arrange the delivery time — about 30 minutes before guests arrive
6. Order the Christmas specials early — hallacas and pasteles are made by hand

The Cost

• Casual party (20 people): from $500 — Latin Lunchboxes
• Team feast (30 people): from $1,050 — Abuela Feast buffet
• Cocktail party (40 people): from $640 — 8 boxes of Fiesta Bites
• Full fiesta (50 people): from $2,250 — all three packages combined
• Hallacas: from $20 each, gluten-free, pre-orders open now with no cut-off
• Pasteles: ask for Christmas pricing when you request a quote

For a fuller breakdown of what catering costs in Melbourne, see our catering cost guide.

When to Book

November and December are the busiest months of the catering year, and Christmas dates fill up fast. If you want hallacas or pasteles, give us as much notice as you can — they're slow food, made the traditional way.

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Planning a Latin American Christmas in Melbourne? Request a free quote from La Charito for hallacas, pasteles, hot buffets and finger food from Chef Carmen's Venezuelan and Colombian family recipes. Delivered hot across Melbourne for office parties and family celebrations.