{"id":993159,"date":"2026-08-10T14:20:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/993159\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T14:20:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T14:20:30","slug":"chef-rick-bayless-incredible-home-garden-a-hidden-gem-in-bucktown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/993159\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Rick Bayless\u2019 Incredible Home Garden A Hidden Gem In Bucktown"},"content":{"rendered":"

BUCKTOWN \u2014 If you\u2019ve ever watched an episode of chef Rick Bayless\u2019 award-winning series, \u201cMexico: One Plate at a Time,\u201d you\u2019ve seen the lush backyard garden of the Bucktown home he shares with his wife, Deann.<\/p>\n

Whether glimpsed through a window or in its entirety, the large production garden and its 13 raised planter beds play a major role in the show, which ran on public television from 2003-2019 (the series is available on YouTube<\/a>). The garden plays an even more important part in supplying fresh produce to Bayless\u2019 restaurants, Topolobampo, Frontera Grill and XOCO in River North.<\/p>\n

But aspiring gardeners, take note: Even one of Chicago\u2019s most celebrated chefs has experienced gardening failures.<\/p>\n

Thirty-one years ago, when the couple moved into the two-story home \u2014 originally a tavern called Polly\u2019s Polka Lounge \u2014 none of the current plant-filled areas existed. The first thing Bayless did was resod the area on the side of the house. It all died. <\/p>\n

He tried again and again, but nothing stuck.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many hundreds of dollars I wasted on plants because everything I put there would fail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Eventually Bayless gave up and installed flagstone pavers, adding more through the years. The area is now a full outdoor kitchen with a refrigerator, a working sink and cooking equipment, including a large wood-burning grill. Nearby, there\u2019s a pit used to roast large cuts of meat. Tall containers overflowing with leafy plants sub in for the ones Bayless had hoped to plant in the ground.<\/p>\n

The outdoor kitchen area, not far from the chicken coop, is where the 12 garden tours Bayless hosts every summer begin. He started the tours during the COVID-19 pandemic as a revenue-making venture to help his restaurants survive. For more information on tours and tickets, sign up for Bayless\u2019 newsletter<\/a> or follow on social media<\/a>. They typically sell out within 24 hours after posting. <\/p>\n

\"GuestsGuests tour Chef Rick Bayless\u2019 Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Gardener-In-Chief<\/p>\n

The tour starts with a margarita and ends with the 20 or so guests exploring the production garden while nibbling on plants at the chef\u2019s urging.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live with this every day, so we love sharing it with other people,\u201d said Bayless. \u201cIt\u2019s such a gift to be in this all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on hand for the tours is gardener Matt DeRose, who has been working with Bayless for five years. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the mastermind behind all of this stuff that you see here,\u201d said Bayless.<\/p>\n

\"MattMatt DeRose poses for a portrait as Chef Rick Bayless gives guests a tour of the Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

DeRose also manages the greenhouse on the second story of the Bayless home, which grows edible flowers and herbs during the winter and houses some tomato plants year-round, as well as a production garden on top of Xoco that grows the large number of tomatoes Bayless\u2019 restaurants need. <\/p>\n

It was while running a farm in northern Illinois that DeRose became familiar with Bayless\u2019 passion for agriculture and his Frontera Farmer Foundation, which the chef founded in 2003.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people I knew in the ag community had gotten grants from him,\u201d DeRose said.<\/p>\n

DeRose was living in Georgia when he got the itch to return to Chicago. While perusing an agriculture job website, he saw Bayless was looking for a gardener.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, I\u2019ll throw my resume at it and just whatever. Like buying a lottery ticket,\u201d DeRose said. <\/p>\n

He had a FaceTime call with the Baylesses, \u201cthen boom, I was here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bayless gave DeRose a rundown of the garden, and after that he gave him space to do his thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knew that someone who\u2019s coming into this is going to have to smell around and dig some stuff up and figure out what\u2019s going on,\u201d said DeRose. \u201cHe\u2019s really fun to work for because he notices everything, but he gives you latitude to make decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MicrogreensMicrogreens grow in the basement of Chef Rick Bayless\u2019s home in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Taking Root In The Kitchen<\/p>\n

To get the garden going each season, DeRose gets input from the restaurants\u2019 kitchen teams, who often visit the garden. <\/p>\n

\u201cEach chef has expectations for things that they\u2019re going to get from the garden every year,\u201d said DeRose. \u201cSo, there\u2019s stuff that\u2019s already planned, stuff the chefs are kind of kicking the tires on, and then there\u2019s me being bored in January looking through seed packets.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the eight months of the year it\u2019s in production, the garden yields 700 pounds of salad greens, 65,000 edible flowers, 250 pounds of herbs and 100 pounds of butternut squash. <\/p>\n

It also represents the culinary philosophy of Bayless, who helped launch Green City Market and other farmers markets around Chicago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you can be a really good chef unless you\u2019re also part gardener because you have to understand nature,\u201d said Bayless. \u201cA lot of the graduates of culinary programs are taught that they\u2019re supposed to demand the best. But what you really need to understand about any kind of gardening or farming is that you\u2019re not demanding anything from nature. You have to work with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 1,000 square feet of outdoor space and the gardening possibilities it offered was one of the main attractions for the couple when the Baylesses first saw the house. The large open front room, with its original terrazzo floor and pressed tin ceiling from its 100 years as a tavern, sealed the deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was three steps in and I thought, this is where I want to live,\u201d said Bayless on his first viewing of the home. <\/p>\n

The couple also bought the three-flat next door. Their daughter Lanie and her family now live in it.<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Rick Bayless gives guests a tour of the Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Beyond Organic<\/p>\n

Bayless is proud of his home\u2019s origins, urging tour attendees to have a look inside, \u201cwhether or not you need to use the facilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Post margarita, the group heads to a small part of the outdoor area featuring apple trees and a huge hydrangea hedge that provides privacy and also works as a sound barrier. A nearby cabana used to serve as an escape from the rain; it now mostly functions as toy storage for the couple\u2019s two grandchildren.<\/p>\n

A few steps away is a large pergola covered in thick grapevines, with a long dining table underneath. Bayless harvests about 250 pounds of grapes every year \u2014 a blessing and curse since they\u2019re a Concord variety with an overbearing flavor profile, said Bayless.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, a new sous chef at one of his restaurants is excited to work with them. <\/p>\n

\u201cI told him, \u2018They\u2019re all for you as nobody else wants to use them,\u2019\u201d said Bayless.<\/p>\n

A koi pond houses offspring of the original fish given to the couple as a housewarming gift by the previous owners. The garden\u2019s chickens and bees are part of Bayless\u2019 overall concept of creating an organic garden. Taking it beyond eschewing chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, Bayless opts to follow biodynamic farming, which treats the garden as a self-contained, living organism.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biodynamics people say you should always think about all the animals that are around because they contribute to healthy soil, which produces healthy plants, fruits and vegetables,\u201d said Bayless. \u201cThat really captures organic gardening in a way I can relate to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GuestsGuests tour Chef Rick Bayless\u2019 Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"ChickensChickens cluck around before Chef Rick Bayless gives guests a tour of the Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Tasting Encouraged<\/p>\n

The production garden focuses on three things: unusual herbs; edible flowers; and \u201clettuces and things that we can\u2019t buy very easily,\u201d said Bayless. <\/p>\n

A space underneath the detached garage houses microgreens and serves as a starting area for lettuce plugs. <\/p>\n

Butternut squash, Japanese eggplant and figs all grow in the garden. In one corner, nopal cactus trails down the side of a raised bed. <\/p>\n

\u201cMost people think cactus can\u2019t grow in this climate, but it actually grows in literally every single climate on earth,\u201d Bayless said. <\/p>\n

\"ScottScott and Siti Baxter eat edible plants as guests tour Chef Rick Bayless\u2019s Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

Bayless points to colorful flowers on the other side of the garden. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you haven\u2019t had nasturtium flowers, please go over there and taste them,\u201d he said, citing the flavor as \u201cpeppery\u201d and \u201cdelicious.\u201d <\/p>\n

He recommends folks pinch off a tuberous begonia hanging in baskets: \u201cIt\u2019s very citrusy, almost lemony.\u201d<\/p>\n

Garlic chives, Mexican oregano, hoja santa, Thai basil \u2014 the sampling recommendations from Bayless continue. He\u2019s particularly excited about pipicha, an herb with a cilantro-like flavor that grew in Mexico before cilantro\u2019s arrival in the early 20th century.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want folks to taste something that will change their lives forever,\u201d said Bayless of all the sampling he encourages. \u201cI\u2019m trying to create memories for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChefChef Rick Bayless poses for a portrait after giving guests a tour of the Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"MargaritasMargaritas are poured before Chef Rick Bayless gives guests a tour of the Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

\"GuestsGuests enjoy tortilla chips, ceviche and guacamole as Chef Rick Bayless gives a tour of the Bayless Gardens in Bucktown on July 29, 2026. Credit: Colin Boyle\/Block Club Chicago<\/p>\n

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