Purser, Jeremy, 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 Back-of-house kitchen worker, experimental sound artist, musician and graphic designer Jeremy Purser describes his early life and upbringing in North Carolina. He talks about his Korean-American heritage; the influences of his mother's Korean foodways and cooking; his college career and obtaining a second BA in graphic design; and his entrance into food service work upon moving to New York City in the early 2010s. He describes the culture and community around Brooklyn's Court Street Grocers, where he made sandwiches; the advantages of part-time kitchen work for his creative life in the NYC comedy community; his move to the Hudson River Valley; his immersion into the culture of organic farming and local foods; and his journey in restaurant work in Columbus, Ohio, where he had been living since 2015. Jeremy is especially attentive to both the material and occupational culture of working in food prep; to working as a line-cook/sous-chef; and the economic justice and labor experiences of kitchen workers as under-waged workers in a system that, at least in Columbus, claims to be about sustainability. He details his experiences working at Natalie's Coal-Fired Pizza, Paulie Gee's Pizza, and on various local organic farms as well as at the Little Eater outpost in the North Market. He also discusses his pop-up business, Clintonville Sandwich Shop, established with fellow project interviewee Jacob Warren Reece Holler. Jeremy's interview is notable for his frank discussion of workplace abuses and wage equity issues. He talks about his attempt to connect with food service employees' unions to organize his workplace, and his ultimate disappointment that fellow employees were too afraid or swayed by promises of long-term career opportunities to sign a petition to organize. He also describes the food industry's continued role in his own work-life balance: particularly the advantage part-time work affords him in maintaining his creative work, as well as how his other "side hustles" (e.g., graphic design work) have allowed him to maintain low-wage work in the local food and farm industry. Recorded at the Historic North Market, Columbus, Ohio, July 23, 2017. Kitchen Workers in Central Ohio: Archie Green Fellows Project, 2017-2018 (AFC 2017/020: 04385) 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. Purser, Jeremy--Interviews. Anger in the workplace. Collective bargaining. Employee morale. Hours of labor. Wages--Service industries. Job stress. Unfair labor practices. Wages--Service industries. Work environment. Work-life balance. Employee rights. 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_04385_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.