When Christina West began her career at Chipotle Mexican Grill as a crew member, her job quickly became a safe haven from some unstable parts of her life. The general manager of her location created a great workplace culture, she recalled.

“I wanted to be at work every day,” she said.

Six years later, West hopes to do the same for her staff at the Chipotle on Bay Area Boulevard in Webster, where she is the restaurateur, a position she described as an “elite GM.”

West and her passion for fresh food are about to reach nationwide audiences: a 15-second clip of her preparing guacamole is part of the company’s new “Behind the Foil” campaign.

The Clear Lake native grew up with eight other siblings on a farm in Arkansas, where she became accustomed to farm-fresh food. She said working at Chipotle brings her back to this time in her life and gives her a sense of familiarity with its fresh ingredients.

West and her sister, who is a general manager at one of Chipotle’s Pasadena locations, talked about their roots when they filmed their audition video for the advertising campaign together.

The two spent hours at a local park filming their video in September, she recalled, and West found out she had been selected just a few weeks after submitting the clip. West was one of fewer than 100 employees to be flown to the Los Angeles film set in October, where they shot commercial footage between the 2019-2020 productions, according to Chipotle spokesperson Griffin Teller. Of those, about 11 have been featured in television spots, with more coming this year, Teller said.

While in California, West said she enjoyed getting to interact with other company employees and general managers.

“It was really cool that we were all there kind of sharing the same passion,” she said.

The "Behind the Foil" campaign aims to offer an intimate look into the 25-year-old company’s operation through documentary-style digital and TV ad spots, according to a Chipotle media release. This entails behind-the-scenes footage of Chipotle restaurants, including Chipotle's kitchens, equipment and prep routines as well as features with Chipotle employees and the farming partners that fuel the brand's ingredients. The campaign content provides “unfiltered and emotional testimonials” from Chipotle team members about the impact Chipotle has had on their lives, according to Teller.

West’s situation has become more stable since she first started at Chipotle. She recently bought a house in Rustic Oaks.

She also said she is looking forward to the opening of new Houston-area store locations in 2020, including one in League City, she said. She said she enjoys the personal atmosphere of the Webster location, though; customers know her by name and often ask about her daughter.

West said that being with a company that has always cared for her and helped her get through tough times, from the death of a parent to leaving an abusive relationship, has made all the difference.

“This is a company that really can help you,” she said.