On a cold and rainy day in February – cold as any Florida resident would care to endure – the air is brisk and bleak. The afternoon dew dangles cautiously on the leaves before eventually meeting its fate on the ground. A chilling breeze sweeps carelessly throughout the town of Loxahatchee, as the sun refuses to show its face. A day that although overcast and frigid in nature, provides a contrasting backdrop to the heartwarming tale of two farmers and their home they call Swank Farms.

It was 1996 when Darrin Swank began researching the feasibility of owning a farm. He was a landscaper by trade and was absolutely fed up with his job. He wanted to do something different with his life, something more, something that hadn’t been done before.

He quickly realized through his findings, no one was cultivating local produce and selling it directly to restaurants. In fact, the term farm-to-table, a movement that is so popular today, was unheard of back then. So a light bulb went off and for three years, Darrin spent the necessary time figuring out what he needed to do to get started and how big he needed to be to make a profit.

“We weren’t 100 percent sure what we were doing, but I knew in the back of my mind we needed to get this to the end user,” says Darrin of getting his produce straight to the chefs. So he and his wife, Jodi, purchased 20 acres of land in 1999, closed escrow in 2000 and began planting. They knew they still needed to figure out the system, so they only cultivated three items they were certain would work: basil, lettuce and arugula.

 According to Darrin and Jodi, they had ended up with so much of it they contacted A-One-A Produce because the Swanks thought it was the perfect vendor to take some of the produce off their hands. “They wanted it for dirt cheap and they were quadrupling the price, so we knew something was wrong,” Jodi says with a Northeastern draw reminiscent of her hometown in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Having worked in the high-end travel industry before the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001 caused her job to plummet; Jodi was new to the world of farming. But even she knew they were sitting on a revolutionary gold mine.

“When you go to the supermarket, you don’t know where the produce is coming from. You don’t know how old it is or why it’s dying when you open it,” Jodi says. “You want to know the person who’s growing what you’re consuming.”

So during the summer of their first season, they took a different route. They began sending out surveys to local chefs in the area, while Jodi, who was pregnant and had two other small children in tow, began knocking on the doors of different establishments and giving chefs samples of their produce.

The Swanks were determined, tenacious and smart. At the suggestion of one of Jodi’s former clients, they began to diversify their portfolio and grow more products.

One day, in an attempt to showcase their increased vegetation, they decided to do an open house. Jodi went to a calligrapher and printed out about 30 invitations. She sent out all but one to country club chefs they had established a relationship with through the American Culinary Federation. The one invitation left over was sent to Leonardo Cuomo, the chef at Buonasera Ristorante in Jupiter and the only person to answer the survey.

 The day the open house rolled around all the country club chefs were in attendance as was Cuomo. But unlike the other chefs, Cuomo was the only one who stayed, talked to the Swanks, and became their first customer.

That’s all it took; from there, word of Swanks’ fresh greenery spread like wildfire. The Swanks now have 30 accounts purchasing their hydroponic products – plants that are grown without soil in a nutrient-rich solution. According to Darrin, they grow more than “200 varieties of produce consisting of leaf lettuces, specialty greens, cooking greens, baby veggies, edible flowers, herbs, tomatoes and micro greens.” They don’t use pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, so those using the Swank Specialty Produce brand can rest assured they will get a clean harvest of fruits, plants and vegetables. The Swanks, who live on the farm, have 11 people on staff, including “Top Chef” finalist Lindsay Autry, their resident chef.

Having two shaded houses, where more of the leafy greens are grown, and an uncovered area, where rows and rows of vegetables are cultivated, the Swanks optimized their use of environmental conditions that extends their margins on the seasons. “We can start earlier and end later; it gives us more options for growing,” Jodi says.

 Darrin and Jodi’s core business is just like that of the fashion world – inspired by trend. Every season something new comes on board. Darrin says this year’s best-selling items are the purple scallions and cauliflower, but it’s their mixes of lettuces that remain to be a hot ticket item.

“[People] love the longevity of our products. … All the greens are harvested with the roots attached so the shelf life is longer than normal,” says Darrin, whose salt-and-pepper beard, relaxed blue eyes and floppy hat give him a quintessential farmer look.

The Swanks taught themselves the nature of the business as the years went on by tasting everything they grew, and subscribing to a lot of trial and error. “I was growing a lot of things I thought the chefs would like, but we didn’t know what they were at the time,” Darrin says.

Even though the Swanks are not open to the public, they can be accessible through different forums. Every weekend for the past nine years, they exhibit their crops at the West Palm Beach Green Market.

In 2008 they launched a Community Supported Agriculture club, where consumers can pre-purchase Swank produce and then have it delivered to them on a weekly basis. And about two years ago, Swank Specialty Produce began hosting table events, where people can purchase tickets to tour the hydroponic green houses, drink and dine on food prepared by local and nationally known chefs who use Swank produce, all the while benefiting charitable organizations.

On Feb. 10, 2013 a recent table event benefiting The Breast Cancer Research Foundation was held. It was a heavenly day where a feast fit for kings was served. One hundred-thirty-eight people attended and were greeted with a glass of champagne infused with lavender, lemongrass, pink peppercorn and strawberries, a concoction devised by Mariya Kovacheva, Palm Beach’s Café Boulud’s sommelier.

After receiving a warm reception and tour by Jodi and Darrin, the guests were directed toward the appetizer station – and an open corridor of sorts between the shaded houses and uncovered vegetation.

There they ate Florida osetra caviar, broccolini and micro broccoli prepared by Lauren DeShields, executive chef at Market 17 in Fort Lauderdale; beet chips, bean puree and crab prepared by Julie Frans, executive chef at Essensia at the Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach; watermelon radish with beef tartar, and egg salad with chives prepared by FOX’s “Hell’s Kitchen” season’s five runner-up, Paula DaSilva, executive chef at 1500° at the Eden Roc Renaissance Resort in Miami Beach; and beets with a cashew cream, morel mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes, with a little bit of shallot and garlic prepared by Amanda Fernandez, a healthy eating green mission specialist at Whole Foods Market.

As the sponsor of all of the Swank Farm events this year, Whole Foods Market provided all the protein and pantry ingredients needed for the luncheon. “It’s a perfect partnership to work with because not only is it an amazing farm in our backyard, but it’s also great to have the chefs use our ingredients and Swank’s ingredients in what they are making,” says Lauren Belinsky, marketing team leader for Whole Foods Market in Wellington.

Tequesta Brewing Co. was also present at the affair. It featured German wheat beer infused with raspberry and papaya. About ready to open its second location in Palm Beach Gardens, some of the brewery company’s notorious beers made an appearance as well, such as Der Chancellor, the Gnarly Barley and the American Pale Ale.

A cookbook, Field to Feast: Recipes Celebrating Florida Farmers, Chefs, and Artisans was another featured item at the luncheon. Co-authors Katie Farmand, Pam Brandon and Heather McPherson wrote a book that celebrates Florida farms, farm-to-table chefs and recipes combining both. In fact, they highlight Jodi’s grilled cheese with fig jam and escarole recipe in their book, a recipe prepared by DaSilva.

The actual lunch featured – among many other items – Florida clams, homemade sausage, baked and loaded eggplant, smoked and braised pork belly, and delectable delights from Sarah Ortiz, a pastry chef in Dallas.

At this fundraising event, the number of people who attended (138) was nearly twice the number the Swanks had at their first event in 2011. At $150 a ticket, Swank Table was able to raise more than $20,000, a huge portion of which benefited The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Whole Foods sponsorship contributed not only the pantry and protein ingredients, but they provided the floral décor as well. “I think we give great service, and without great service there is no business,” Darrin says.

For the last 10 years they have strived to provide the best not just for their clients, but for themselves and their three children as well: Isabelle, 12, Liam, 10, and Sophie, 8.

There’s not a chef in South Florida who doesn’t know the name Swank Farms, and there’s isn’t a restaurant along the coast that isn’t confident in knowing that all produce delivered to them is inspected, fresh and free of all contaminants.

After all, the Swanks live by three tenets that keep them on top of their game. “We’re consistent, we give good service, andwe have a great product,” Darrin says.