Meet Miss Ava Cado

Miss Ava Maria Cado was born on July 20th 1980, just outside the city of Uruapan, Mexico, also known as “the city where everything blooms.”

She grew up on a prized Hass avocado orchard that has been in her family for hundreds of years.  Her father Hector inherited it when he was only 18 years old and has been running it with her mother Pilar for over two decades.  The orchard was a lot of work but as their family kept expanding, they always had extra hands to help out.  Ava has five siblings: Alejandro (27), Antonio (25), Juanita (24), Thalia (16) and Sergio (12).   In spite of the hard work the family invested in the family business, the household was constantly filled with music, dancing and lots of food. Ava especially admired the love her parents had for each other and hoped that one day she would find her own true love.

When Ava was a little girl, she would rush home everyday to help her father work in the family avocado orchard.  Her curious nature would drive her to ask her father hundreds of questions, taking particular interest in cooking with avocados, Mexican heritage and culture. After all her hard work in the orchard, she would hurry into the kitchen, just in time to take in the fabulous aromas of her mother’s authentic Mexican cuisine and would always offer to help with the food preparation. Watching her mother prepare a variety of authentic Mexican dishes inspired her passion for cooking and developing her own unique avocado creations.

In high school, Ava met and fell in love with Senor Guac at a Cinco de Mayo party.  Since the moment they met on the dance floor they became inseparable and it was not long before Ava quickly realized that she wanted to share her life with him. She believed Senor Guac to be the love of her life.  Five years later, Senor Guac broke the news that he would be going away for four years to pursue his college education at the University of Toronto in Canada.  He went on to tell her that it would be best if they broke up while he was away.   Ava was heartbroken and could not understand why he wanted to go to school so far away or why he would want to leave her.

After Senor Guac left for Canada, Ava wanted a change of scenery and she moved to the city of Morelia to work at her uncle’s restaurant “La Casa de Mario.”  She saw this as the perfect opportunity to share her passion for authentic Mexican cuisine and her love of avocados with a larger audience. Her avocado dishes became so famous, that she quickly earned the nickname “Miss Ava Cado”.  People from neighbouring towns would come to the restaurant just to try some of Ava’s unique creations.

She was very dedicated to the restaurant, but she always made time after work to go dancing with her new friends Silvia and Christina. One night while she was at a club, she met a tall, suave, gentleman named Sir Lantro.  He was attracted to Ava the moment he set eyes on her and had heard of her cooking abilities.  He was a wonderful dancer and made her feel invigorated.  He wasted no time in asking Ava to be his girlfriend and before she knew it, they had been dating for four years.  Ava was very happy but would sometimes hear of rumours that Sir Lantro had gone dancing with other girls. She tried to ignore them, but couldn’t help but wonder if they were true… 

Instead of confronting him, Miss Ava Cado decided she would visit her cousin Guac Grl in New York City to seek some advice.  At the time she could not predict the series of events that would lead her to Toronto, Canada in September of 2009, where she planned a huge celebration in honour of Mexican Independence Day with her friend Chef Juan Salinas.  Despite the drama that unfolded with her love interests – Senor Guac and Sir Lantro – she will never forget the joy of giving away 20,000 avocados and sharing her passion for the delectable fruit with so many new Canadian friends.  

Now, after spending more than a year back at her uncle’s restaurant in Mexico where she developed new avocado recipes, she has eagerly returned to her favourite Canadian city to continue sharing her love for this beloved fruit. However, this time, she is taking on another new mission: making Cinco de Mayo, a widely celebrated Mexican fiesta, a national holiday across Canada for all to enjoy!  She urges everyone to take part in this undertaking by casting their votes at www.missavacado.com.