Local health boards were invited to put forward teams that took part in regional heats over the summer, before the grand final, which has just taken place.
Each NHS board was asked to create an original, Scottish-themed two course patient menu consisting of a starter and main course. The winning dishes had to be visually appealing, great tasting and nutritious and also had to be within a total budget of £3.
Andy Jones, chairman of the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA), and one of the judges of the competition, said: “The team from St John's are very worthy winners as their dishes not only met the judging criteria, they certainly hit the mark in terms of the patient feedback which was key, showing that we have great chefs in the NHS.
"Patient satisfaction with hospital food is achieved as the result of the sheer determination of hospital chefs to rise to the challenges and to be willing to hone their own knowledge and culinary capabilities, and that's what Sara Jane and both Stevens have demonstrated.
"Mark Shipton, the catering manager at St John's, and all the catering staff in our hospitals work hard to create tasty and nutritious food for our patients and service users every single day.
“The Good Food Challenge presented the opportunity to show exactly what they can do on a tight budget."
Beating 15 other regional teams in the final, the St John's team came up trumps with a first course of Smoked Mackerel Pate served with homemade Chili and Coriander Oatcakes and a main course of Stuffed Ayrshire Pork with Haggis and Black Pudding stuffing, served with Wholegrain Mustard Almondine Potatoes and fresh steamed Seasonal Vegetables.
For the final, the regional winners had to produce their dishes for a patient service within an NHS hospital. Patients choosing the dishes were asked to judge them through feedback forms. A team of judges also marked the dishes and looked for criteria including: consistency, the working method and the quality and presentation of the dish.
At the launch of the competition in May, Scottish cabinet secretary for health and wellbeing Alex Neil said: “Scotland is known as a land of food and drink with some of the best natural produce in the world.
“Despite this Scotland still has one of the poorest diet-related health records in the developed world. Whatever the reasons for our dietary habits, the Scottish Government is determined that our culture must change if we are to prosper as a nation.
“That is why we are taking a range of steps to help people make better food choices, taking account of food's healthiness, quality, seasonality and freshness.
“The NHS Good Food Challenge is an excellent opportunity for our committed catering teams to show what they can deliver and to come up with new recipes that are tasty, healthy and that can be shared across the NHS."
The winning menu will now be considered as an addition to the patient menu across every NHS Scotland Board.
Jones added: “This win for St John's is evidence that hospital chefs are making a real contribution to not only increasing the standard and variety of the meals on NHS menus but also to the nutrition and hydration that is so vital to a patient’s recovery plan, after all food is the best form of medicine.
“To the HCA the focus is on 'healthy eating' for staff and visitors and 'eating for good health' for the patients, with increased scrutiny on the ‘last nine yards’, the point where the food arrives on the ward, to ensure it is served immediately and correctly.
"We congratulate all the teams who took part and of course the winners at St John's, and hope that the skill shown in their dishes will help to eradicate the often unfounded poor perceptions of hospital food.”