How does Dunedin's cheapest eatery get away with $4 mains?

The Bowling Club in Dunedin is a community eatery serving mains for between $4 and $8 and you can get a dessert or a drink for just $3.

With the current cost of food so high, how do they make put food on plates so cheaply?

Liam Arthur set up The Bowling Club, in its current location, with his partner Jackie Bannon in 2023 having previously run a food truck in Dunedin.

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Arthur’s first tip is keep the meals simple.

“We always have mac and cheese, which is easy. “

And once you've chosen a few dishes, take a hard look at the recipes themselves, avoid lots of long and fiddly steps, he says.

“You just won't get it done on time. It will just be incredibly stressful.”

After starting life as a food truck, The Bowling Club now buys enough each week to be able to go to a wholesaler. But for other smaller groups, clubs, or even families, Arthur reckons go to the source.

He often buys direct from Canterbury growers.

“That's where a lot of the canola oil is made. That's where beans and lentils are grown. Just finding out who's grown those things and buying from them in bulk [can help save money].”

Seasonal ups and downs mean Arthur buys what’s plentiful and cheap and cooks with that - so when carrots are pricey and broccoli's cheap “you buy like a thousand broccolis, That's what you're cooking with this week".

Potatoes are nearly always available and nearly always cheap. Arthur says. But The Bowling Club also uses less familiar staples.

“We use a lot of pea flour, we know the pea flour's always there, it's always cheap.”

That helps the club ride things out when other prices go up and down, he says.

And when there’s a glut, they buy big, Arthur says.

During the summer, he linked up with some Central Otago orchardists that had some slightly imperfect produce, unsuitable for export.

The Bowling Club bought five tonnes of it and turned it into puree.

“Buy everything that's in season, and it's really cheap, and it's waste product, and turn it into something that you want to eat.”

On a smaller scale, with the right storage, this is a tip for smaller groups or families, he says.

To save time on meal prep, he says, use gadgets. They have some serious kit at The Bowling Club to keep the time and cost of preparing food down, but blenders and food processors in the home kitchen can have a similar benefit.

One thing you can't do at The Bowling Club is bowl, so where does the name come from?

“We encourage people to bring their own containers, or bowls, and that's why it's called a bowling club, because if you bring your own bowl, you save money.”

And then you wash your own dishes and take them away - which might be the best tip of all.

Whether you're feeding a sports team, or helping at a school event, seek out bulk deals and go to the source.

Get cheap produce you can divvy up with other people.

Make a few simple meals with easy steps.

Do as much as you can in advance, using blenders and appliances to lighten the load.