Permaculture: Devon Quinn of The Paramount Group On Designing Sustainable Agricultural Ecosystems to Grow Food

Permaculture offers a holistic approach to agriculture by designing sustainable ecosystems that grow food in harmony with nature. By understanding natural processes and applying them to farming, we can create self-sustaining systems that reduce waste, conserve resources, and promote biodiversity. How can permaculture principles help us design agricultural ecosystems that are not only productive but also environmentally friendly and resilient? In this interview series, we are talking to permaculture practitioners, agricultural experts, environmental scientists, and anyone who is an authority about “Designing Sustainable Agricultural Ecosystems to Grow Food”. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Devon Quinn, Chief Culinary Officer of The Paramount Group, which includes Eden, its flagship restaurant.

Chef Devon Quinn is the Chief Culinary Officer of The Paramount Group and co-founder of Eden, a Chicago restaurant celebrated for its on-site greenhouse and ever-evolving, seasonally driven menu. With a degree in Biology from Hope College and culinary training from Le Cordon Bleu, Devon brings a holistic, ingredient-focused lens to the kitchen — blending science, sustainability, and flavor. He champions local farmers and growers throughout the Midwest, in addition to cultivating over 50 varieties of herbs, edible flowers, and petite produce at Eden to create a deeply rooted, hyperlocal dining experience.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?

I grew up in Traverse City Michigan. My father was a physician, and my mother a teacher and administrator. I have 3 brothers and had a fortunate upbringing. We traveled extensively at a young age, experiencing many cultures. We spent a lot of time outdoors, canoeing, camping, and fishing. I went to college with the intention of becoming a doctor myself, graduating with a B.S. in Biology. I was unsure of that pursuit and while looking for laboratory or other work in my field, I started cooking with my cousins. I never looked back.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I had the honor of cooking for and sharing a conversation with President Barack Obama. It was a very surreal moment.

What drew you to the field of permaculture?

My mother and her father always had extensive gardens that butt right up against the wild, incorporating functional systems like composting withing the landscapes. I love the natural, and using those shapes, and textures to create art. Structural elements break up, and train natural shapes to create a functional landscape.

I was a studio art minor in college. For the last 22 years my medium has been food and gardening, and composition is never forced.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

I am relentlessly reliable. I show up over and over and over which ensures steady progress. I have missed 2 days of work in the last 22 years. My team can always count on me to be there, and to finish the job.

I lead by example and am available. This is important as the driving force of our team. I work with my hands daily, if that is taking a project off an overwhelmed employee’s hands or showing a new technique. I make myself available to answer questions.

I am ethical. I stay true to my values, my standards, and my products. I grow and pursue the best produce available for my customers because my product directly represents me. You will find me at the farmers markets every Wednesday and Saturday hand curating fruits and vegetables for our team. We use organic wheat in our bread program, eliminating synthetic pesticides, because we care about the health of our consumers.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

We are regularly growing our small urban garden to maximize its impact. We are in the process of creating programing with two local schools to teach what we do.

Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. To ensure that we are all on the same page let’s begin with some simple definitions. What does the term “Permaculture” encompass?

Permaculture to me encompasses design, art, and functionality. Creating a sustainable agricultural system within a natural environment. Or using elements or ideas from nature to create a functional ecosystem. For us, this is done along a natural stretch of the Chicago River, in Avondale. Our growing style is rather wild with other elements of form.

Can you share a success story where permaculture transformed an agricultural landscape?

Our stretch of the Chicago River has been cleaned up significantly and has become extremely diverse in a short period of time. Our gardens are a part of it. We have perennial gardens leading into our two other ecosystems. A cooler shaded structure along one side, and a temperature controlled agricultural greenhouse as the focal point. Inside the house we have two large trees, a Chicago Fig and a Bearss Lime. The boxes are made of cedar. We grow Esmee arugula as our main cash crop, intermixed with 70+different herbs and edible blossoms.

What challenges have you faced in implementing permaculture, and how did you overcome them?

We deal with pests of all kinds and must come up innovative ways to deal with them. We have designed and created fencing to keep out field mice, rats and rabbits. The coyotes also help. Insects are a tougher feat. We plant lots of things that are natural repellents but also add biologics to our ecosystem. Nematodes, lacewings, mantis and others help to keep down populations.

We are unable to compost on site, because it attracts rodents, so we use a third party. They in turn give us the compost back to add to our soil periodically.

How can permaculture principles be applied to urban farming to make cities more sustainable?

Permaculture can be integrated into an urban setting to create unique microenvironments and to help clean up years of poison that have been added to the soil. Mustards for lead, willow or poplar trees for hydrocarbons, etc… If implemented properly the systems are cyclical and add to the economic value.

What are the most effective permaculture techniques for enhancing soil health and fertility?

Cover crops, potash, biochar, and composting.

How do permaculture practices contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem resilience?

We try not to fight nature when we are landscaping. The orientation of the gardens creates tunnels for the wind to naturally cool. We have tons of blossoms which attract bees and butterflies, and our soil diversity is outstanding. We have amended our organic soil over the last 12 years to create a very organic and healthy mixture.

Ok, thank you. Here is the main question of our interview. What are the “5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Implement Permaculture Practices” (Please share a story or example for each.)

1 . Need a connection to the natural. Spending time in nature and taking note of how she grows. We mimic natural scenery and create layers within our garden system. The style softens the man-made angles created by the infrastructure.

2 . Create no waste. Reusing containers from sprouts, growth medium, composting clippings and weeds, using our biochar from our wood burning grills and more.

3 . Attract indigenous insects and birds. We grow natives and perennials in our raised beds to attract pollinators.

4 . Listen to your plants. If something is not happy or successful in one spot, you could need a new home. We are constantly transplanting to maximize growth. We don’t give up on plants easily

5 . Give structure to natural form. The two can live in harmony together. We use cedar to create natural wooden structures to contain our plants. We allow plants to live in harmony together and we welcome “volunteers”, seeds that have sprouted at random. Sometimes we transplant them but often we allow random plants to find their way.

Are there other ideas or considerations that should encourage us to reimagine our food supply chain or how we produce food today?

Grow what you eat. The biggest difference is a true connection to our guest experience. We start plants from seed, store for minimal periods of time, and highlight our plates with unique elements of our garden. We maximize what we can grow on our urban environment by getting creative and following natures lead.

What is your vision for the future of permaculture and sustainable agriculture?

We will continue to grow our operation and as an urban pioneer we look to integrate the natural into our great city of Chicago. Orchards, cover crops, prairies and wetlands can all be intertwined into our city environment.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I am a huge proponent of changing our agricultural system. We need to reexamine the use of chemicals, such as glyphosate from the system. Making organic food available to the greater population is a goal, as everyone deserves to eat safely.

Permaculture in the form of agroforestry, etc. needs to be a part of that supply chain. We have amazing resources that if used correctly can produce enormous amounts of food.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

@chefdevonquinn

@edeninchicago

@paramountevents

@tpgchi

This was very inspiring and informative. Thank you so much for the time you spent with this interview!