Chef Demetri 'Jimmy' Loizides, Owner & Operator
From a young age, Demetri was a natural in the kitchen. One of his earliest memories growing up in a Greek household was baking a chocolate cake at age four while his mother tended to the garden. Now, several years later, this memory serves as a glimpse into what has since become a lifelong passion for cooking.
He brings a unique perspective to the local farm-to-table cuisine by combining his experiences living in Rhodesia and Cyprus, as well as his 35 years in the restaurant business. His background began with Mediterranean food, and he has 3 full-service Greek restaurants in Southern California with strong 4 1⁄2 star ratings on Yelp. In addition, he has two licensing fast casual restaurants in the Long Beach Airport (just rated #1 best food program in an airport in the United States) and California State University, Long Beach.
Demetri has since branched out into the farm-to-table movement, utilizing influences from all over the world. He uses only the freshest produce (much of it made from the family’s own farm and garden), meat from local vendors, and artisanal cheeses. He is dedicated to preparing tailor-made menus for even the most discernible palates.
Kara Teel, Director of Events & Sales
Kara grew up with parents who loved to throw parties. It was often she was recruited by her mom to assist with the cooking, baking, decorating for such festivities. You could say she grew up having a natural knack for event planning and creating memorable experiences through delicious food and beautiful tablescapes, thanks to her mom.
Kara is a Central Coast local that started in the wine industry at the ripe age of 18. Learning about the finer things in life at a young age, she appreciated the relationship between wine and food. In 2008, she was hired as the Sales and Marketing Director for a popular local restaurant, caterer and food manufacturing company. It was there when she the opportunity to build a successful catering division and hone her event planning and execution skills. In 2012 she became a partner in an event planning company and implemented exciting and unique festivals here on the Central Coast.
Kara went back into the wine industry full time where she built wine programs from grape to bottle for clients in the Private Label industry. There, she sharpened her sales, marketing, and customer service expertise selling to medium and large retailers nationwide.
She met Demetri and K’Syrah during an event in 2017 and at that moment she was hooked. When the opportunity arose and the timing was right she joined the team at K’Syrah, back to her first passion of event planning. Which is where she ultimately belongs.
