Forget the white tablecloths and stuffy dining rooms most people associate with the restaurant scene in Palm Beach. One of South Florida’s most memorable dinner reservations takes place beneath an open-air pole barn on a working farm in Loxahatchee.
Swank Specialty Produce founders Jodi and Darrin Swank have turned their 20-acre farm into an unlikely culinary destination with the creation of Swank Table, a seasonal series of farm-to-table dinners featuring some of the top chefs in and around South Florida.
I attended one a few years ago, and it’s the kind of welcome occasion that calls for pulling your boots on and heading somewhere unexpected for a night out — in this case, straight out west.
Each themed evening begins with cocktails and canapés and a behind-the-scenes tour of the hydroponic growing houses before guests settle in for a multicourse feast showcasing the farm’s own vegetables, microgreens and edible flowers. Wine pairings, craft beer, live music and mingling beneath the stars round out the evening.
The 2027 season includes a candlelit Woodland Supper with open-fire cooking on January 10, Cuban-inspired Havana Nights on January 31, a country-themed evening complete with line dancing on March 7, and a tropical luau on April 4.
Tickets are $200 per person, including food and beverages, and a portion of each evening’s proceeds benefits local charities. Events are rain or shine and reserved for guests 21 and older.
Can’t make dinner? The farm also hosts a free farmers’ market on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. October through May.
From the dinners to the markets to the weekly farm share, it’s all proof that some of South Florida’s best dining experiences happen beyond its (deservedly) esteemed restaurant scene — and that sometimes the best table in town isn’t in town at all.