The toast was to prosperity but coming after Gordon Brown's belt-tightening exhortation to his fellow countrymen to waste not, want not, tucking into a 19-course dinner might seem a wee bit excessive.

At the "world food crisis summit" - costing a mere £283m - the world's most powerful stomachs were entertained by an array of Japan's finest delicacies.

Just hours after being presented with a five-course lunch of white asparagus and truffle soup, kegani crab almond oil foam and green olive tapenade followed by peach compote, ice cream and raspberry coulis, the PM and his seven fellow summiteers had to gird their girths for a sumptuous eight-course banquet at the plush Windsor Hotel - presidential suite a mere snip at £7000 a night.

The dinner, prepared by Katsuhiro Nakamura, the first Japanese chef to win a famed Michelin star, had 19 separate dishes under the grand heading of Hokkaido, Blessing of the Earth and Sea, washed down with Le Reve grand cru champagne and Chateau Latour burgundy as well as Japanese saki.

Surprisingly, perhaps, African leaders - including the heads of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Senegal - were not invited to the evening feast.

Last night, Dominic Nutt, of Save the Children, appeared unimpressed. "It is deeply hypocritical that they should be lavishing course after course on world leaders when there is a food crisis and millions cannot afford a decent meal to eat."

He added: "If the G8 wants to betray the hopes of a generation of children, it is going the right way about it."

Andrew Mitchell, the Shadow International Development Secretary, added: "The G8 have made a bad start to their summit with excessive cost and lavish consumption."

Meanwhile, a Commons parliamentary answer last night revealed the market value of the UK Government's wine cellar is £2.4m.