While working side-by-side in the kitchen of L’Espalier, Frank McClelland and then sous chef Geoff Gardner envisioned the opening of a rustic French brasserie, a perfect counterpart to the more formal L’Espalier, where they could serve Provençal-inspired country cuisine in a casual setting, and would sell their signature artisan breads in a storefront boulangerie. They chose a location in one of Boston’s fastest growing and most vibrant neighborhoods, the downtown waterfront area, and in the spring of 2000, they gave life to their vision with the opening of Sel de la Terre.

One of Boston’s most well-respected entrepreneurs and chefs, by the age of 26, McClelland had already been a chef in two of the most respected local kitchens -- The Harvest in Cambridge and L'Espalier. In 1984, he became Executive Chef at The Country Inn at Princeton in western Massachusetts, where he earned a four-star rating from The Boston Globe and was named one of the country's top 25 new chefs by Food & Wine. In 1986, McClelland returned to L'Espalier as Executive Sous Chef, and within two years he fulfilled a lifelong dream with the purchase of the restaurant. Under McClelland’s direction, L’Espalier was quickly recognized as one of the top 20 restaurants in the country and received numerous awards and accolades, including six years running as the only independent restaurant in New England to receive Five Diamonds from AAA.

McClelland’s business acumen proved to be invaluable to Sel de la Terre as well, as it opened to rave reviews, and was instantly named one of the top 20 new restaurants in America by Esquire Magazine. McClelland is known for his pursuit of perfection, his intensity and a love for what he does, and this unending aspiration for perfection has been instrumental in establishing both Sel de la Terre and L’Espalier amongst the most successful restaurants in Boston.