balanced pleasing

Meet Chef Brian Snay

“Balanced Pleasing” is how Brian Snay terms his work as Executive Chef at BallouLife Communities. “By that, I mean,” said Brian, “I have to be sensitive to the ingredients I am using and how they might affect a resident while at the same time coming up with a tasteful and pleasing meal.”

And “pleasing” meals they are according to residents and staff, alike. Brian noted that he likes to spend time with the residents. “I enjoy the residents, immensely, and have gotten to know each one individually. And listening to them, helps me in my work. Ballou’s Executive Director, Barry Zeltzer, said “Brian’s approach with the residents certainly underscores Ballou’s mission of ‘Person-Centered Care.’”

Brian has been with Ballou since 2017. He began his cooking career at age 17 at the Cocke ‘n Kettle, staying there for 20 years. “The Cocke ‘n Kettle is where I really learned about cooking and the restaurant business, in general,” says Brian. “I started at the very bottom as dishwasher and worked my way up to Head Chef. The owner was very generous in sharing his knowledge about the business as well as the food side of things.” All that knowledge led Brian to open his own, widely-popular restaurant, Brian’s in Northbridge Massachusetts which he operated for 19 years before coming to Ballou.

“I’ve always had a passion for cooking and pleasing people and, at Ballou, I can do both. At least, the pace is more measured than operating my own restaurant. This gives me time to really interact with the people that I’m cooking for, and that makes it fun and rewarding,” concluded Brian.

“I’ve always had a passion for cooking and pleasing people and, at Ballou, I can do both.”