Prior to opening Sel de la Terre in the spring of 2000, Chef/Partner Geoff Gardner spent eight years as the sous chef at Boston’s prestigious L’Espalier restaurant, where he immersed himself in the teachings of his mentor, L’Espalier’s Chef/Proprietor Frank McClelland. McClelland and Gardner envisioned the opening of a rustic French brasserie, where they could serve seasonal and locally grown Provençal-inspired cuisine in a casual setting and would sell the handmade breads that L’Espalier had become famous for under Gardner’s direction. They agreed the perfect first location would be the beautiful and ever-developing downtown waterfront area of Boston. In the spring of 2000, they realized their dream with the opening of Sel de la Terre. At the helm of Sel de la Terre’s kitchen, Chef Gardner always practices the service philosophy and cooking techniques, he learned working with Chef McClelland at L’Espalier. All which quickly helped Sel de la Terre become one of Boston’s most highly-acclaimed restaurants and to earn such impressive accolades as “Best French Restaurant” by Boston Magazine in 2003 and 2004 and 100 Hottest Restaurants in the World by Condé Nast Traveler. In September 2007, Chefs McClelland and Gardner presented their slice of Provence to the suburbs, with the opening of a second Sel de la Terre in the brand new Natick Collection.

At Sel de la Terre, our concept is simple. We:
• offer approachable and affordable Southern France cuisine in a comfortable environment
• use only farm fresh produce and obtain our ingredients from local farmers whenever possible
• cook with seafood that is indigenous to New England
• serve only the highest quality meats available
• provide knowledgeable and professional, but entirely unpretentious service
• build strong relationships with our neighbors
• propose an adventurous, eclectic wine list without attitude
• make menus available throughout the day and evening
• bake and sell the best bread…period
• strive to “find an opportunity to improve at every moment” (Chef/Owner Frank McClelland)

Every day we strive to maintain these standards that we have successfully upheld since our very first day of business.