Our Chef Frank McClelland, Executive Chef/Proprietor
Frank McClelland’s initial interest and training took place while growing up on his grandparent's farm in New Hampshire. His interest in the culinary field intensified during summer camp and has continually developed throughout the past 16 years. The summation of his culinary career is reflected in the cuisine that he has created at L’Espalier.
Known for his ingenious use of New England’s freshest offerings, McClelland’s greatest influence is his grandmother. Back in New Hampshire, his grandmother did all her own pickling and canning, baked fresh bread every day and made sorbets from fresh fruit purees. He helped his grandfather get chickens from a huge coop where the birds ran free. All of those imprints have given McClelland an edge for perfection and a love for what he does.
McClelland cherishes his grandmother's recipe book. Since her own mother was a professional cook in Europe, the collection's range is broad, from ginger-marmalade jumbles to sauerbraten.
By the age of 26, McClelland had already been a chef in two of the best 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 evolved his own highly
personal style of cooking and earned a four-star rating from The Boston Globe in the process. While at The Country Inn at Princeton, Food & Wine rated McClelland, “one of the top 25 chefs in the nation” for his personalized New England cuisine.
Since the McClelland’s purchase in 1988, L’Espalier has evolved into a nationally-recognized restaurant. In 1992, it became the only restaurant in New England to receive four stars from Boston Globe food critic Alison Arnett. AAA awarded L’Espalier with Four Diamonds and Money Magazine rated L’Espalier as one of the top three restaurants in Boston. Cond� Nast Traveler listed L’Espalier as “Best restaurant in Massachusetts” in 1992 and 1993, and one of the top 15 restaurants in the nation by their readers poll.
Located in an historic 1886 townhouse in Boston's Back Bay, the McClellands reside on the top floor, steps away from the dining room. They have two children, Kepler and Annie and steadfast companion, Agnes, the dog.
