11/10/2025
Meet Mary Ferguson, Dining Experience Director at Rose Mary C. Brooks Place. She may look familiar to you, because she’s no newcomer. Like many of the staff at Brooks Place, Mary’s tenure with the organization is long. She will celebrate 10 years of cooking up a collection of meals ranging from southern comfort to elevated cuisine for the senior living community. Mary lives in Wi******er with her husband and 3 children. We sat down with Mary to get her take on 10 years in the kitchen and why she is still here, thriving in her leadership role. Here’s what she had to say:
Mary, What is your role here at Brooks Place?
-“I manage and oversee 7 staff members who also have a lot of years of experience in this dining room. I make weekly menus and decide what will be cooked and served, I purchase and plan all the kitchen and dining room’s supplies needed. I cook meals and I serve as needed.”
Why are you still here?
-“There are 2 main reasons: I love the environment here and I love the freedom I’m given to explore menus and meals and visit and hang out with the residents. If I have 30 minutes between meals, I know I can spend time getting to know the residents by joining in on activities or having coffee with them.”
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
-“Well, I will say it helps that I have extremely dependable staff right now. That isn’t always the case in the restaurant/dining industry. We’ve mastered so many meals that have become staple items: fried chicken livers, fried catfish, meatloaf, pot roast, salads. But when we try new things and the residents request to have it on the menu again quickly, that makes for a rewarding day! It goes along with that freedom we talked about earlier. I get to really come up with whatever I want based off resident feedback.”
What is your Go-To Meal to make?
-“My favorite entree and the one I’m most proud of is our meatloaf. The residents always love it and I’m proud because when I first started 10 years ago, I spent a year changing the recipe up. Cooking for large groups from scratch can get tricky. You can’t always follow the basic double, triple, quadruple the recipe instructions for large crowds. You have to play around with the ratios a little bit when you’re dealing with 20-30 pounds of meat until you get it just right. I spent a year getting feedback from residents, figuring out exactly what they liked in it and what they did not. Then I finally nailed it and it’s been a hit ever since! Senior residents’ tastebuds can change and evolve. It’s important for me to stay mindful of this and always switch up whatever I need to.”
What are some challenges you’ve experienced and how did you handle them?
-“We do so much here for residents from events to parties to community lunches. Working here 10 years, of course you go through moments of burn out. But what I’ve learned that has really helped me keep the joy in my job is to not stress in advance. Not stressing in advance is something I’ve had to learn overtime. I have to take all of it day by day. I can’t dwell on it because then I’ll just worry and that’s no fun for anyone. We have such a dependable crew and we’ve all worked together for so long that we know how to run these events and parties. I stay focused on home when I’m home and work when I’m at work.”
What brings you the most joy on the job?
-“When I cook meals and the residents say, ‘Mary! If you have leftovers of that, save some for me! I want it again!’ We’re all such a family, I know what everyone wants down to the condiments they will expect. This brings me joy.”
Mary is an incredible asset to Brooks Place because she believes it’s an honor to cook for seniors in our community. Thank you, Mary Ferguson for your leadership, dedication, and commitment to keeping the Brooks Place community well fed, full, and satisfied.
