Judge: Alex Matthews

Alex comes from a long line of avocado appreciators, having been raised in Te Tai Tokerau, Whangarei: a beautiful Northern land peppered with many avo orchards. Founder of the first WATA in 2020 alongside Ciaran Jack, Alex started the competition out of a love for the dynamic flavours and creative possibilities that the avo toast provides. With a background originally in cheffing and resterauntering, Alex subsequently moved on to spend the last decade running Xequals, a creative and technical agency based on Cuba St, where he gets to design silly websites about avocado toast. Deeply involved in local business and community initiatives, Alex is passionate about the innovation sector, young people rising up through it, and using humour as a device for tackling sometimes very serious subjects.