Into the Woods is a Reminder That Orlando is Ridiculously Talented
August 1, 2026
Photo by Leah Lascano, Orlando Life
The Winners of FusionFest’s 9th Annual Culinary Arts Contest
Nine Central Florida chefs stepped into the kitchens at UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management with one challenge: create an original dish that blended cultures through cuisine. During FusionFest's 9th Annual Culinary Arts Contest, those chefs demonstrated how food can become a language that connects people from different backgrounds.
“It’s not just about creating dishes, it’s about fusing dishes between cultures," Gareth Edwards told Orlando Life.
FusionFest President, Maria Fernanda Saavedra, shared that her commitment and love for the Culinary Arts Contest blooms from a place of using food as a vessel for connection. Through food, we can communicate things that cannot be shared verbally, and from that we can gather a unique understanding of other cultures. The fusion aspect of the competition intends to spark conversations and bridge cultures in ways that may seem unexpected.
“The Culinary Arts Contest is important because it shows that at the end of the day, we’re all similar and we’re not as different as we may think," Saavedra said
Chef Karyna Moskalchuk - 1st Place Overall, 1st Place Day 1
Chef Karyna Moskalchuk | Photo by Leah Lascano, Orlando Life
The first place winner of this year’s Culinary Arts Contest was Ukrainian chef Karyna Moskalchuk. Fusing Ukrainian and Japanese cuisine, Chef Moskalchuk crafted her original dish Kalyna: A Dialogue Between Europe and Asia using inspiration from her personal and professional identities.
“The roll combined beet-colored sushi rice, shrimp, marinated cucumber, cream cheese, mango, masago, glazed unagi, a thin potato crisp, fresh dill, aerated horseradish foam, and red soy sauce caviar,” Moskalchuk said
Chef Moskalchuk is an entrepreneur and award-winning chef, with over eight years of experience as a sushi chef. She is the co-founder of Seafood Symphony LLC in Miami, and founded her own sushi businesses in Ukraine prior to moving to the US. She shares that when she found out about FusionFest, she was immediately drawn in, as their mission resonated deeply with her own culinary philosophy. The Culinary Arts Contest granted her the valuable opportunity to blend her professional background in Japanese cuisine with her Ukrainian identity.
“Winning first place overall was deeply meaningful to me,” Moskalchuk said. “As a Ukrainian chef rebuilding my professional career in the United States, this award represented independent recognition of my experience, creativity, and original culinary work. Receiving first place showed me that a dish rooted in Ukrainian identity could be understood and respected within the American professional culinary community.”
Chef Sajan Premajan - 2nd Place Overall, 1st Place Day 2
Chef Sajan Premajan | Photo by Leah Lascano, Orlando Life
Winning second place overall in the Culinary Arts Contest is Chef Sajan Premajan. His dish brought together elements of Indian and French cuisine, bringing emphasis to bold flavors while crafting a complex yet light tasting dish.
Chef Premajan has served as Corporate Chef of 5th Element Indian Catering for the past three years, where he specializes in catering and large-scale culinary operations. He is passionate about creating memorable dishes that reflect his love for global culinary traditions. He draws inspiration from his years of experience preparing Indian, Italian, and Moroccan cuisine.
The dish Chef Premajan crafted for this competition was a unique journey for the senses. His plate featured fish paupiette served in a velvety, coconut beurre blanc sauce, supplemented with a fennel and grape salad on a crisp, and a refreshing scoop of guava sorbet. Chef Premajan’s goal for the dish was to evoke a feeling of relaxation and light refreshment for all those who tasted it.
The Culinary Arts Contest
The competition was judged by a panel of seven well-respected figures local to Orlando. Executive Chef and Valencia College Dean, Alex Erdmann, was featured on the panel, and was presented with an award and token of gratitude from FusionFest on Day 2 of the contest. Alongside him on the judging panel, was Trudy Wild, Idrees Khan, Terry Olson, Chef Leo Vilelat, Executive Chef Patrick Story, and Chef Jonathan Woodbury.
Within the competition, the camaraderie of the FusionFest chefs shined through on each competition day. Though in competition with each other, these chefs helped one another with plating their dishes before being served out to guests, and supporting each other throughout the contest. This camaraderie demonstrates one of the many ways FusionFest brings people together and connects them through the language of food and shared culture.
“I’m not the type of person who competes to win,” Chef Blakey told Orlando Life. “I do it to get to know other chefs and connect and network with others. That’s what it’s all about. I feel like each of us is a winner in our own right when it comes to this; it takes a lot of time and courage to do it”
Of course, one of the most inspiring aspects of the Culinary Arts Contest is observing how each contestant demonstrated creativity to craft a unique culinary fusion for their dish. Chef Yves Desravines provides an excellent example of this, as he creatively fused Haitian and Mexican cuisine in his dish. The base of Chef Desravines' dish was a handmade tostada, created by seeping the Haitian mushroom djondjon and using the fluid to make the masa. The tostada is topped with whipped avocado spread, a Mexican esquites mixture seasoned with epis (a Haitian herb blend), and Haitian pork. Chef Desravines’ dish exemplifies a unique fusion of Mexican and Haitian culture through cuisine, with careful attention to detail.
Another creative take on the challenge was Chef Jazmyne Richardson’s Low Country Boil Gyoza. Chef Richardson crafted a dish inspired by childhood memories, through fusing Gullah Geeche and Japanese culture. Growing up with fond memories of sharing low country boils with her family, Chef Richardson wanted to incorporate elements of her own culture, while combining it with the similar group tradition of making gyoza in Japanese culture. Her dish featured gyoza stuffed with andouille inspired pork with lump crab, served with a yuzu corn sauce, and topped with a potato chip, sesame, and chive mixture. Chef Richardson competed on Day 2 of the competition, and was awarded with 2nd place and the Audience Choice Award for that day.
FusionFest’s 9th Annual Culinary Arts Contest was a journey through the rich cultures of some of Florida’s most talented chefs. Through the demonstrations, we understand how food can be a valuable vessel for sharing culture and opening spaces for dialogue about the rich threads that connect us all.
Photo by Leah Lascano, Orlando Life
