The brief for Table Se7en's owner and chef to feed the 30 attending the speakers' dinner tonight was to devise a menu based on local produce to tie in with the theme of the school - the global food crisis.
The meal will come after exploration of weighty issues such as the right to food, appropriate agricultural production systems in the context of the food crisis, emerging pressures on first world food exporters, and the role of New Zealand's food exports.
Mr Richardson found it was not possible to provide a varied enough menu with only Dunedin-based produce, so he has concentrated on gathering his main ingredients from throughout the South Island.
The menu will include an Otago baby clam and Marlborough mussel chowder, lamb from the Taieri, Akaroa salmon, Canterbury duck breasts, sorbet from Dunedin's Gourmet Ice Cream Co, and a South Island berry fruit compote to go with the restaurant's own chocolate pudding.
While he would have liked to offer only Central Otago wine on his menu, that proved too costly for the budget, so he will be serving a Lake Hayes Pinot Gris and a Pinot Noir from Marlborough.
Mr Richardson said while celebrity chefs such as Gordon Ramsay placed great emphasis on buying food locally, in Dunedin it was often difficult to get the quality, quantity and security of supply of produce chefs might want to use.
Price was also a large factor, he said.
Organic produce was often too expensive for inclusion on menus.
"If you put it on the menu the prices would be exorbitant and people wouldn't come."
It was illegal to sell some wonderful produce, such as trout.
He would like to see relaxation of laws around the serving of game too, provided there were suitable controls over the processing of it.
The carbon miles of the speakers at the two-day school have been offset through the Carbon Volunteer Network and funds donated will support a forest restoration project, school organisers said.
About 140 people are expected to attend the weekend school.
