Rural meets big city: Swank Farm hosts a series of feasts each harvest season. (Palm Beach Post file)
Growing season has kicked off at Swank Farm, which means party season is on the horizon at Palm Beach County’s premier hydroponic farm.
Farmers Darrin and Jodi Swank have stepped up their farm dinner schedule this harvest season, booking nine “Swank Table” events beneath their newish, soaring, open-sided barn between December and April.
That’s one more dinner than last season. But as Darrin Swank puts it, the chef-driven feasts signal a shift in the farm’s identity and goals.
Jodi and Darrin Swank. (Allen Eyestone/ The Palm Beach Post)
“We’re going more from a production side to more of an educational, entertainment, tourism side,” says Swank, whose 20-acre farm sits on a dirt road in Loxahatchee Groves. “Our idea is to keep bringing more and more folks here to educate them about the values of using local produce.”
The Swank Table events draw carloads of South Florida foodies in farm-hip garb. They travel west for chef-made dishes inspired by just-harvested ingredients, locally brewed beer, sommelier-poured wine and live acoustic music.
This year’s lineup features a night with the chefs from Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood and Coconut Creek restaurants, a specialty farm market, a Chinese New Year celebration, a Valentine’s dinner, a 70s party, an Argentine barbecue, a vegetarian feast, a white party and a pig roast.
See the full schedule at SwankSpecialtyProduce.com. Individual event tickets cost $160 per person.
