Cook, Kursten, interviewee. Holler, Jess Lamar Reece, interviewer. Occupational Folklife Project, sponsor. sound recording Sound recordings. lcgft Digital photographs Color 2010-2020. gmgpc Interviews. lcgft Oral histories. lcgft Personal narratives. lcgft eng In this interview, hourly/shift manager Kursten Cook details her childhood in Gahanna, Ohio. She talks about starting work for a local Columbus BBQ chain, City Barbeque and Catering, in its Gahanna's location as a high-schooler, and her almost ten-year career with the restaurant. The interviewee discusses her move from front-of-house to back-of-house work, including her discovery of the art of BBQ ("it's not just about the sauce"), and includes significant ethnographic descriptions of the layout and roles back-of-house work at City BBQ. She discusses carving/cutting the meat, prepping sides, and preparing dishes for the front counter. She also talks about workplace culture, wages, balancing work with being a mom to her two young kids, and opportunities/challenges for advancement in a large corporate restaurant chain like City BBQ, which now boasts locations in several states. She describes workplace culture at City BBQ, management styles and relations to managers, shift culture, leadership, employee morale, and negotiations or navigation of raises. Recorded at City BBQ's back dinning porch, Gahanna, Ohio, May 24, 2018. Kitchen Workers in Central Ohio: Archie Green Fellows Project, 2017-2018 (AFC 2017/020: 04366) American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. To honor the memory of Archie Green (1917-2009), a fellowship program was established at the American Folklife Center in 2010. Archie Green Fellowships support new research in the contemporary culture and traditions of American workers. Cook, Kursten--Interviews. Employee morale. Hours of labor. Work and family. Work environment. Work-life balance. Working mothers. Restaurants. Food service employees--Ohio--Interviews. Restaurants--Employees--Interviews. Kitchen Workers in Central Ohio: Archie Green Fellows Project, 2017-2018 https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afc2017020.afc2017020_04366_sr01 Collection is open for research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.