They were hailed by politicians, diplomats and event organisers as the best Commonwealth Games ever, with the highest participation in their history.

Now the 6500 international athletes and officials who took part in Glasgow 2014 have voted the food the best ever too.

An online assessment of the performance of the food operation - the largest event in Scottish catering history - shows a 96% satisfaction rating in the Athletes' Village. Scottish ice-cream, grilled fish and eggs went down particularly well with Asian athletes, and Scotch lamb and venison were also popular.

Over the 27 days competitors and officials were in the city preparing for and participating in the Games, Glasgow 2014 worked with 20 contract caterers across more than 35 venues round the clock. In turn, hundreds of home-grown producers and suppliers were involved in delivering Scottish fare to hundreds of thousands of people involved in the event.

In what is described by the Glasgow 2014 Catering, Cleaning and Waste operations team as "a hugely complex task", more than two million meals in a suitable range of different foods were prepared for the 6500 athletes and officials from 71 nations and territories, plus media, the 45,000-strong workforce and 1.2 million spectators.

The Games were unique in developing Scotland's first Food Charter, which encourages caterers to sign up to sourcing sustainable, local and ethical Scottish produce, and to commit to offering healthier choices.

It is hoped the Charter, part of the Scottish Government's Legacy 2014 programme to improve the health of the population with a particular focus on the prevention of obesity, will now become the benchmark for the food procurement at all public events in Scotland.

Craig Lear, the Australian-born head of catering for Glasgow 2014, said the experience of delivering so much Scottish food to so many people in such extreme circumstances had been an "amazing" experience.

He said: "Scotland and Glasgow just blew me away, the whole thing went beyond my expectations."

Mr Lear, who trained as a chef in his home city of Melbourne but switched to catering the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games, the 2006 Melbourne Games and the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, also said he was impressed by the "can-do" attitude of the Scots, coupled with its "fantastic" natural produce.

"The positive attitude all around me, from the Scottish Government to the taxi drivers, really helped me get out of bed in the morning," he said. "I have never experienced that absolute focus in any other country I have worked in.

"The volumes of Scottish produce pumped through were substantial. I am not able to mention supplier names, but I can say we were seeing huge volumes of local produce going through all venues and hotels. People from all over the world were trying foods they had never had before.

"Asian athletes were going through ice-cream from Arran, Huntly and Inverurie by the truck-load, and the hot-smoked salmon, lamb and venison were so tasty it was unbelievable.

"Glasgow 2014 had the highest participation rating in the history of the Games, and it was packed out. We have the right to say ours was the best-ever Games in terms of the food."

Asked if chips had been served to athletes Mr Lear said no deep-fat friers had been installed in the kitchen at the Athletes' Villages or the Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. "Potatoes were oven-baked and no athletes said they were missing chips. Some 12,000 local volunteers were eating the same food as the athletes and though we were certainly asked for them, the desire for chips gradually disappeared."

The Food Charter also applied to Festival 2014 areas such as the Scottish Food Village at Glasgow Green Live Zone and the Merchant City Festival, but not to street vendors outwith official venues.