Although some people think college students’ culinary expertise stops at microwaving ramen noodles or calling in a pizza delivery, that couldn’t be further from the truth for Kate Marshall.
The junior business management major from Carrollton, Georgia, has worked in the kitchens of several acclaimed Oxford restaurants during the past two years.
Now a line cook at Snackbar, she balances working up to 40 hours a week while taking tests and doing homework. And she did the same at her other jobs at most of John Currence’s restaurants — City Grocery, The Main Event and two now-shuttered restaurants, Lamar Lounge and Fat Eddie’s.
To Marshall, working as a line cook while still taking classes is “like going to culinary school without paying.”
Marshall’s love for cooking goes back to her childhood. She grew up in a tight-knit Georgia family that has always gravitated toward the kitchen.
Years before the farm-to-table movement, Marshall said she and her family grew tomatoes, sweet corn, okra, squash and green beans in her grandparents’ garden. These ingredients made their way from the backyard to the dinner table.
“I do this because I hope to open up my own restaurant one day,” Marshall said. “All my family loves that I do this. As a family, we’ve always wanted to have a restaurant in the family.”
Marshall also worked at a barbecue joint and with catering companies in her hometown.
Though she now works in the kitchen, Marshall started as a server at Lamar Lounge, a whole-hog barbecue restaurant. In 2016, Lamar Lounge became Fat Eddie’s and started serving Italian-American dishes.
The new restaurant’s opening coincided with the death of Marshall’s brother, which caused her to seriously consider working primarily with food, not face-to-face with customers.
“At this point, I felt ready to go to the kitchen. I didn’t want to serve people anymore,” Marshall said. “So, when they transitioned into Fat Eddie’s, I went to the kitchen, and I’ve never looked back. It’s been life-changing.”
Snackbar, headed by repeat James Beard award finalist Vishwesh Bhatt, has become one of Oxford’s most high-profile restaurants, garnering national attention for its combination of Southern and French cuisines with an Indian twist.
On weekends during football season, the kitchen turns out up to 500 plates of food. Marshall said Snackbar’s record is 510 tickets in a night, while her personal record is 497 tickets.
“Tensions are high. Everyone is stressed and running around like a chicken with their head cut off. But with all the adrenaline, it ends up being pretty fun,” Marshall said.
Along with the stress, Marshall said she has also adjusted to being one of the few female line cooks in the places she’s worked. She’s cooked alongside three other women in the City Grocery Restaurant Group but is currently the only woman on the line at Snackbar.
“It’s weird. It’s different, but nobody acts like I wouldn’t be able to do something,” she said. “Sometimes I do feel like I have to prove that I can do the same things as everybody else in the kitchen. … I guess growing up with a brother has helped me to hang out and be one of the guys.”
When asked about her future, Marshall said she will continue to pursue a career that involves food. She’s not eager to leave her community at Snackbar, but she is excited about the possibilities to learn all the different aspects of working in a kitchen in another location — anywhere from Louisiana to California to France.
“I want to make good food with good ingredients. I want to make good family meals — Southern comfort food that makes people feel like you’re at home,” Marshall said.
