Will Gilson.

Chef & Restaurateur · Cambridge + Groton, Massachusetts

Cooking from where it grows.

Will Gilson grew up on an herb farm in Groton and has spent two decades turning New England's bounty into restaurants people call their own.

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Chef Will Gilson in an apron, leaning on a chair in the dining room
Chef / Owner · Cambridge Street Hospitality Group

The story

A farmer's son who never left the table.

Will's family runs the Herb Lyceum, four acres of herb gardens and greenhouses on the Gilson homestead in Groton. His father sold herbs to Boston's chefs at the Government Center market, and Will was cooking dinners in the farm's carriage house by 17. That is where seasonal cooking became second nature.

At 15 he apprenticed with Chef Charles Draghi, then trained at Johnson & Wales and in kitchens including Oleana in Cambridge and The Lanesborough in London. In 2007 he opened Garden at the Cellar, cooking, washing dishes and running the room himself.

Puritan & Company followed in 2012, a modern, farm-driven take on New England cooking. Within months it earned two James Beard nominations and a spot on Bon Appétit's list of the best new restaurants in America. Since then the family of restaurants has grown across Cambridge and back home to Groton.

  1. Age 15Apprentices with Chef Charles Draghi in Boston
  2. Age 17Begins cooking at the Herb Lyceum, his family's farm in Groton
  3. 2007Opens Garden at the Cellar, Cambridge
  4. 2012Opens Puritan & Company on Cambridge Street
  5. 2013James Beard nominations: Best New Restaurant and Rising Star Chef
  6. 2021Opens The Lexington, Geppetto and Cafe Beatrice at Cambridge Crossing
  7. 2025Opens First Street Market in East Cambridge, alongside Amba
  8. 2026Comes home with Puritan Tavern in Groton Center