Every Friday, a third of the 155 children at the school ordered the $3 hot lunch, which was part of a healthy eating initiative organised by the Methodist Mission.
Since the hot lunches were introduced six weeks ago, they had proved extremely popular with pupils, families and teachers alike, he said.
"I am slowly working through the menu and my favourite, so far, is macaroni cheese," he said.
The menu included chow mein, macaroni cheese, shepherd's pie and spaghetti bolognese.
Pupils ordered their meal on Friday mornings, Mr Caldwell said.
Cheap, healthy and nutritious, the lunches were ideal for child-ren who wanted a hot meal on a cold Dunedin day, he said.
The school is one of 15 in Dunedin which have signed up for the new Smart Food Hot Lunches programme organised by the Methodist Mission.
Since the hot lunches were introduced, an average of 1400 lunches a week have been delivered to participating schools, with 40% of these hot lunches, Methodist Mission general manager Laura Black said.
The remainder of the lunches provided by the mission were the $2 or $3 sandwich packs, which had been available for several years and were ordered by 47 city schools.
Working within the new Healthy Eating Healthy Action (HEHA) guidelines, the Methodist Mission trialled the hot lunches with several schools, including Musselburgh School, last year.
"They were so popular we decided to make available the hot food option this year," Ms Black said.
Prepared in a commercial kitchen, the lunch packs were prepared by six staff and delivered hot to schools by three vans.
The Smart Food Lunches programme was paying for itself, but the aim was to provide nutritious meals for families, rather than turn a profit, she said.
At present, schools could order a hot meal just one day a week.
"We don't want to 'overcook' this by expanding it too fast," she said.
Feedback from families had been encouraging, with some parents saying the lunch was their child's main meal, "which was not something we expected".
"Many parents regard this hot meal in the middle of the day as the main meal for their child, as time constraints mean they can't always cook a large, hot meal for their family.
Parents are under enough stress at the moment and we can provide hot lunches for their children, at a minimal cost, to ease some of that stress."
The most popular meal with the children is macaroni cheese, followed by spaghetti bolognese, shepherd's pie and then chow mein.
In order to boost its popularity, chow mein might be renamed to appeal to younger customers, Ms Black said.
