What We Provide
Avocado Toast w/ Heirloom Tomatoes, Mangoes & Balsamic Reduction
The Starving Gypsy is a diverse, multicultural talented staff of individuals that love food, life, and people. We paint and create with all the colors in the crayon box; Even the ones others forget about. That approach to all of our events give you the freedom to be the lead in a full feature that is produced by you yet written and directed by us.
Below are a list of services where you can start your journey with us.
“Heal Each Other First, Heal Each Other Last.” - Chef Demeatrie’s personal guiding mantra
Chef Demeatrie was born into a military family with both of her parents enlisted in the Army. She spent a great deal of her formative years in Germany, Belgium and then Louisiana, where her mother is from originally. After the tragedy of September 11th in 2001, she felt it was her humanitarian duty to follow in those footsteps as she enlisted in the Air Force as a Computer Engineer. For the next 6 years, she was stationed in England and South Korea. During her time in the service, she spent many hours, outside of the uniform, cooking for her fellow troops to give them a sense of home in a place that was so detached from their current reality. One day, someone made her a bet that would require her to cook for the base-wide football team every time they won. Knowing that their track record wasn’t that great, she agreed, and they went on to win every game after. It was in this moment that she decided there was something bigger and more magical being created. She separated from the military in 2007 and attended Gros Bonet Culinary Academy in Honolulu, Hawaii in conjunction with working in some restaurants in downtown Waikiki. She continued to build her craft after in Chicago and central Florida where she also provided solo catering to film shoots while she was attending Full Sail University's Film Production Program. After that she ventured to northern California where she worked in fine dining restaurants as well as a non-profit that supported most of the homeless community of San Francisco. She also lent her time to cooking in a community-based theater as well as a high-end catering company, both in Oakland. After that, she decided it was time to pursue this passion on her own terms and she devised a plan that would require traveling the world a bit more to sharpen her skills as well as learn about cuisines and techniques that are specific to particular regions. She also wanted to save the money needed to make The Starving Gypsy a reality. On her journey to this goal, she worked in Big Sky, Montana; Stanwood, Washington and Livingston Manor, New York. She has also appeared on the fifth season of The Food Network’s “Cooks vs. Cons”. Currently, she resides in Austin, Texas where it is important to her to bring all of her culinary & worldly influences to the forefront as a woman of color.
In her free time, Chef Demeatrie continues to provide support, services and time to artistic endeavors that facilitate self-growth, acceptance, companionship and camaraderie for veterans, the homeless, lower income, LGBTQIA+ and adolescent communities. The Starving Gypsy is an all-inclusive entity that strives for equality, fair treatment and understanding amongst all backgrounds be it race, color or creed. It is important that the people we work with feel respected, supported, safe and uplifted. We believe in taking care of ourselves so that we can take care of each other as the main goal is for us to create curated experiences that are framed by fellowship and awesome food.
Demeatrie Funderburk
Our Dynamic Owner & Chef
When she’s not creating and coming up with innovative menus and takes on classic dishes, she spends her time writing poetry, short stories and even screenplays.
Joana Gracio-snellenberger
Our Fearless Photographer & Life Enthusiast
Joana is a blogger, content creator and writer from Brazil. As an added bonus, she loves food! She met Chef Demeatrie in 2013, when they were roommates in Chicago working in the hectic frenzy that is the food, beverage & hospitality industry. She has vast experience such as elite service, training and supervising that she has perfected over the last decade in places such as Georgia, Australia, Colorado, Georgia and currently, Austin.
She has hopped onboard with The Starving Gypsy family to help visually document the thrill, joy, passion and vibrancy that radiates from each event and experience with us.
Roasted Radishes w/White Bean Puree, Mushrooms & Spinach
“Demeatrie is a true professional and an excellent chef. She has a passion for pleasing her clients and would always go the extra step to create exciting and delicious meals. She was a pleasure to have at our club as she made our visits very special. I would highly recommend her and hope to enjoy her culinary arts again.”
Stromboli
“Chef Demeatrie went out of her way to make our Thanksgiving holiday most memorable and special. We hosted a dinner for our son and some of his fellow soldiers. We wanted to serve the traditional Thanksgiving meal and she was most accommodating to everything we wanted to serve. The meal was amazing and the dessert which was a pumpkin caramel cheesecake most delicious. She took time from her holiday celebrations to deliver from Austin to Killeen. We know the guys thoroughly enjoyed the dinner after watching them go back for thirds. I would highly recommend Chef Demeatrie at The Starving Gypsy for any of your catering needs. Thank you again Chef Demeatrie for making our holiday so special and thank you for your service.”
Moules Frites (in a Papaya Broth)
Tiger Shrimp w/ Blood Orange Beurre Blanc & Spring Greens
“J.R. and I had the pleasure of experiencing a wonderful date night provided by TSG and CONFIDENTLY SAY 12/10 RECOMMEND ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Demeatrie truly left us with an unforgettable experience, and she keeps saying it’s “just soup” but I’m not lieing when I tell you I had the BEST soup of my life I actually get sad when I think about it sometimes. Her creations are absolutely exquisite and devastating 🤤 and for us, we had our menu made plant-based and it was INCOMPARABLE 😍 She is the most professional and passionate artist I have had the pleasure of knowing, and she is extremely professional when it comes to covid and food safety of course. If you and yours are able, I whole heartedly suggest you booking a romantic at-home private chef dinner date with The Starving Gyspy!!”
“What a gem! A chef that clearly displays a love and passion for her industry and helping others. It’s clear that her dishes are about more than food and she works with her clients to build menus that work for them! From Vegan to Pastries she is an absolute Wizard in the kitchen. Her experience allows her to manipulate ingredients to get different tastes and textures and she often does this on the fly! There are very few chef’s remaining like her and I would recommend The Starving Gypsy for ANY occasion!
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“Chef Demeatrie was excellent from the moment we first conversed about our meal through the end of the night! I wasn’t sure what to expect, but she took the time to go through her menus and everything she offers. The whole bachelorette party was in awe of how she took what could be a simple meal (Mexican) and made it uniquely her own. My best friend- and who the night was in honor of has Celiac. Chef made sure the meal was GF and no one could tell the difference! We even had enough for everyone to have left overs and she packaged everything up so we didn’t have to lift a finger after our meal. Her table set up was simple, yet beautiful. Everything was really perfect for celebrating our bride-the delicious food, cute wine glasses and color scheme! I cannot recommend Chef Demeatrie enough to exceed your expectations and leave your heart and stomach full! Thank you again!!”
Achiote & Dark Cherry Pork Loin
Heirloom Tomato & Grilled Green Bean Salad
“Working with Demeatrie was an incredible experience from start to finish. I had never worked with a private chef before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but she communicated quickly, and set expectations so well! I was incredibly nervous about the food intolerances/allergies of my guests, but Demeatrie went ABOVE and beyond to make sure they were taken care of. I loved the menu she created based on our initial conversation - it was honestly perfection right away, which set my mind at ease! And then getting to meet her — seriously, she is so much fun. She brought her music, which we ALL enjoyed, and then served us food that made our taste buds explode....I’m not kidding, her churro dessert was actually orgasmic. I can’t wait to work with Demeatrie again - in fact, I’m already planning my second retreat and I’ve asked her to come along for the ride! If you are looking for a chef who cares about their craft, who pours love into what they do, and is just a lot of fun, you could not go wrong by working with Demeatrie! - Mia”
The Set Up
Sea Salt Caramel Mousse
“Demeatrie and her team helped my fiancé and I celebrate our anniversary from home during COVID. I reached out to her about two and a half weeks before the date and she responded right away. I am so grateful for her! She worked with me to customize the perfect menu and was considerate of our desire to try multiple items while avoiding an over abundance of food— since it was only the two of us. I highly recommend Demeatrie as a personal chef. Not only is she professional and pleasant to work with, but she is also great a great chef. I have been to nice restaurants before, but I have never tasted food as good as hers. If something was meant to be sweet and spicy, you could taste both flavors distinctly, without one over powering the other! Nothing was too sweet or too salty, everything paired perfectly. I really appreciate the cyclical nature of her art as a chef. It was evident that each dish was prepared with the mindfulness of the flavors of the other. I will definitely be scheduling with her again!”