Chef Will Gilson of Puritan & Company - Biography

Will Gilson’s farm-to-table cooking is second nature. He was the chef at his father’s farm/restaurant starting at the age of 17, and the experience set the foundation for his appreciation for farm fresh produce and the value of seasonal cooking.

But even before he took to the stoves at the family restaurant, Gilson apprenticed with Chef Charles Graghi at Marcuccio’s in the North End when he was only 15. Later, he also staged at London’s Lanesborough Hotel, Silks at the Stonehedge Inn, and Oleana. Gilson is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, and in 2004 was the recipient of the R.C. Kopf Student Achievement Scholarship. The scholarship funded Gilson for a three-month tour of several wineries throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, in Venice, Italy, and Paris, France.

As chef of both Garden at the Cellar in Cambridge as well as The Herb Lyceum in Groton, Gilson's sustainable, seasonal cuisine earned him a 2009 StarChefs.com Rising Stars Award. In his spare time, Gilson works closely with organizations like Chef's Collaborative to help educate patrons and fellow chefs about making sustainable food choices.

After leaving Garden at the Cellar, Gilson founded Eat, which debuted in 2011 on Cape Cod at the forefront of the pop-up restaurant movement. Gilson has since returned to a brick and mortar location, opening Puritan & Co. in Inman Square, where his market fresh style of cooking showcases his past as a farmer’s son in a refined, but rustic setting.