Scottish smoked salmon and local Glenearn lamb will be on the menu when the Queen hosts a banquet for Group of Eight leaders at the start of their three-day summit.

Leaders of Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and Canada, along with their wives, will dine with the Queen at the exclusive Gleneagles resort in central Scotland.

After starters of Marrbury smoked salmon and roasted langoustines, the politicians will tuck into roast fillet of lamb accompanied by broad beans and peas, aubergine caviar and parmesan polenta.

French-trained chef Andrew Fairlie, who will be preparing Wednesday's banquet, said he was not offended by Chirac's "tongue-in-cheek" remarks in which the French leader declared that only Finland had worse food than Britain.

"I am confident that he will have a change of heart," said Fairlie, whose signature dishes include lobster smoked over whisky barrels.

Chirac also reportedly described Scotland's national dish, haggis, as "unappetizing."

Haggis - a concoction of sheep innards, oats and spices cooked in a sheep's stomach - appears to have few fans among G8 leaders. In an interview with the Times last week, U.S. <FORM class=yqin action=http://yq.search.yahoo.com/search method=post>    </FORM>President George W. Bush said he was not keen to try the dish.

"I was briefed on haggis," he said.

The food-loving Chirac also played international food critic at last year's G8 summit, held in Sea Island, Georgia. He declared at a news conference that "this cuisine here in America was certainly on a par with French cuisine" and singled out a cheeseburger he had as "excellent."

At least Chirac can drown his sorrows with French wine. A 1990 Chateau Climens will be on offer to G8 leaders, alongside drinks from all the G8 countries: wines from Italy, Germany and California; vodka, Japanese sake, and Scottish and Canadian whiskies.