From shark fin soup to pistachio ice cream, from liver dumplings to ketchup, the wide-ranging culinary tastes of world leaders past and present range from the mundane to the indulgently unrestrained.

Putin is a man that leaves nothing to chance – it’s reported that he has every meal tested for poison. Not much is known about his culinary likes and dislikes though the UK's Daily Telegraph relayed the rumor that he’s a pistachio ice cream aficionado and he enjoys a beer, though he isn’t a big drinker compared to his fellow countrymen.

The 44th US President is a fan of healthy eating and enjoys his greens, especially spinach and broccoli – judging by his remark at a children’s healthy eating recipe contest. According to an article in the Washington Post he’ll eat nutritious salmon and nut mixes and tuck into apples, but he’s only human, admitting to a weakness for his family’s chili recipe, cheeseburgers, the Hawaiian food of his childhood, and Fran’s Smoked Salt Caramels. Just don’t offer him beetroot.

The French President is a gourmet who loves his food – so much so that a few years ago his love for the finer things in life required him to lose a significant amount of weight. Aside from the food and fine wines of his home country he has a weakness for burgers, and his sweet tooth has him reaching for chocolate and pastries.

Merkel’s early life in East Germany was marked by food shortages resulting in a self-confessed habit for hoarding goods. Today, the German Chancellor turns to homespun comfort food to satisfy her appetite – two of her preferred meals are a Hungarian vegetable stew called letcho and a meat and pickled vegetable soup known as solyanka (pictured).

In a 2008 article in the Guardian, the UK’s current Prime Minister revealed that she was partial to the Indian cuisine at Malik’s, a restaurant in her constituency in Berkshire, but the vicar’s daughter prefers to cook than eat out. May owns more than 100 cookbooks and tries new recipes weekly, leaning towards the dishes of Yotam Ottolenghi and Angela Hartnett.

According to the 'Vatican Cookbook' the favorite foods of the current Pope, who hails from Argentina, is empanadas, sirloin steak and dulce de leche. He’s also a fan of pizza, though wholesome skinless chicken and salad are also on the menu.

Canada’s charismatic leader loves Asian food, especially sushi – his favorite restaurant is Sakura Gardens in Montreal – and when asked about his drink of choice he chose beer.

The Japanese PM eats a lot of healthy miso, rice and natto (fermented soybeans, pictured) but also admits to hankering after the foods of his youth, mainly ice cream, Korean barbecue and ramen.

Tibet’s spiritual leader revealed on MasterChef Australia that he loves bread, cheese, mushrooms and tofu and is “especially” fond of the herb coriander (cilantro). Jamphel Phensok, one of the Dalai Lama’s former cooks before his exile, disclosed that His Holiness enjoyed noodles, tea and roasted barley flour (tsampa, pictured) with butter and fresh vegetables.

An article on Haaretz.com about the eating habits of government ministers stated that Israel’s Prime Minister only eats fruit and vegetables at government meetings, snacking on raisins and nuts at other times. But an article by the UK's Guardian about Netanyahu’s living expenses exposed his liking for vanilla and pistachio ice cream.

It’s widely known that India’s Prime Minister is a strict vegetarian with an affection for the Gujarati food of his youth, especially khichdi (a nutritious meal of rice and lentils, pictured), bhindi kadhi (buttermilk stew with okra), and shrikhand with dry fruits (a sweet and sour yogurt dessert).

America’s President only likes his steak cooked all the way through. “It would rock on the plate, it was so well done,” Trump’s butler Anthony Senecal told The New York Times. The Republican is also partial to bacon cooked “medium” and eggs done “over-well”, meatloaf sandwiches, fast food such as burgers and McDonald’s “Fish Delight” (Filet-O-Fish), and cherry vanilla ice cream. “I want him to eat healthier,” admitted his daughter Ivanka. That said, he eschews coffee and alcohol.

Britain’s former Prime Minister and May’s predecessor is a meat man, known for his liking for spicy sausage pasta, barbecues, roasts and fry-ups. He doesn’t mind a drink, either, telling the listeners of BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs that his luxury would be an Isle of Jura Single Malt whisky.

Before food lover Bill changed his diet on his doctor’s (and his wife’s) orders, he couldn’t resist chicken enchiladas, cheeseburgers and “his mom’s sweet-potato casserole” stated a 1993 New York Times article. He was also quoted professing his love for vegetable beef soup and had a penchant for roast beef sandwiches. Unlike his other half and his daughter, however, he “does not eat chocolate” Hillary told the press.

While serving as the UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that his preferred dish was that perennial British favorite, fish and chips. Earlier reports suggest that Blair’s tastes were distinctly more middle-class, however, judging by his chosen recipe for a 1993 cookbook: fettuccine with olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and capers.

It’s no surprise that Texan George enjoyed All-American food such as “warm biscuits” and “homemade chicken pot pie”, according to White House chef Walter Scheib, while the big kid in him loved “grilled cheese sandwiches with Kraft Singles and white bread”.

Pork rinds were a much-loved snack of George H W Bush’s – an admission that caused an 11% jump in sales at the time – and he was fond of popcorn. Just don’t mention the B-word: “I haven't liked it since I was a little kid and my mother made me eat it. And I'm president of the United States, and I'm not going to eat any more broccoli!" he declared in 1990.

Castro’s chef Erasmo Hernandez Leon disclosed that the Cuban Communist revolutionary’s favorite dish was Erasmo’s vegetable soup. Although Castro leaned towards a vegetarian diet as he aged, as a young man he preferred turtle soup and had a penchant for Western produce such as cheese, olives, fine wine and whisky.

One of the most famous men of our time loved ox tripe (ulusu in the Xhosa language), farm chicken (umleqwa), fermented milk (amasi), stuffed crabs and chicken curry, according to his former chef Xoliswa Ndoyiya, who compiled a cookbook of the South African leader’s favorite recipes called 'Ukutya Kwasekhaya: Tastes from Nelson Mandela’s Kitchen'.

During his tenure as Governor of California, in a bid to give up pipe smoking, Reagan snacked on Goelitz Mini Jelly Beans (his favorite flavor was licorice). Thrilled with the publicity, when Goelitz launched Jelly Belly beans the company sent three-and-a-half tons of red, white and blue beans for Reagan’s inaugural celebrations. Treats aside, Reagan preferred the “plain foods of his early days” such as macaroni cheese and meat loaf, stated the 'White House Family Cookbook'.

The Iron Lady had a liking for grilled Dover sole and wouldn’t say no to a Cointreau or Scotch and soda. Britain’s one-time Prime Minister also preferred to cook for herself and her husband rather than use a chef.

While in exile the Ugandan dictator swapped the roast goat and cassava of his homeland for Kentucky Fried Chicken and pizza. He was also known to enjoy a refined British afternoon tea.

A lover of ketchup, Nixon was known to put the red sauce on a variety of dishes, including cottage cheese and pineapple – a favorite snack of his and reportedly his last meal at the White House.

JFK had a sophisticated palate but a small appetite judging by reports on the President’s eating habits. French food was de rigueur in the White House during his tenure and he liked poultry dishes such as chicken in tarragon or champagne sauce. Such was his appreciation for New England fish chowder and clam chowder that Table 18 at the famous Union Oyster House in Boston is named after him. However, “politics always took preference over food”, says the JFK Presidential Library and Museum.

Fish soup, green turtle soup, clam chowder – these were some of Roosevelt’s favorite broths whilst he resided in the White House says the 1951 'Presidential Cookbook', which also revealed that “the Roosevelts liked doughnuts” and “apple pie was the President’s preference among pies.” A grilled cheese sandwich didn’t go amiss either.

Like millions of other Indians, Gandhi was a devout vegetarian who subsisted on the staple Indian diet of brown rice and dal, locally-sourced seasonal vegetables, ‘pure’ food such as boiled beetroot and radishes, and chapatis. He often fasted and rejected alcohol, encouraging his supporters to do the same, drinking goat’s milk instead. Diet was an integral part of Gandhi’s philosophy and he wrote books about food, including ‘The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism’.

Legend has it that Chairman Mao had frugal tastes, consuming humble fare such as tofu and vegetables, but he also adored spice, which is common in Hunan Province where he was born. So much so, in fact, the first Western journalist to interview the great Chinese leader wrote of Mao having pepper cooked in his bread. But his favorite dish, according to cookery writer Fuchsia Dunlop, was the more complex hong shao rou (red-braised pork, pictured).

It may come as a surprise that Hitler was a vegetarian, but he wasn’t a purist – he was known to eat liver dumplings (pictured). It’s more likely his rejection of meat was for health reasons than humane ones although the Nazis did ban foie gras. Towards the end of his life, stress and medication had given him chronic indigestion and he survived on broth and mashed potatoes.

Britain’s great leader had an appetite as big as his personality. He believed in eating well even in the trenches during the First World War and dined on game, oysters, consommé, curry, and cheeses such as Stilton and Swiss Gruyère. He was also a heavy drinker, with a proclivity for champagne and brandy.

Stalin’s culinary references were foods that reminded him of home, such as Georgian wine and pickled cheese, plums, pomegranates, spicy soups and walnuts. But he also indulged in marathon dinners, nelma (a type of fish, pictured) that was especially flown in from Siberia, and drinking games while his subjects faced mass starvation.

Just like Obama 150 years after him, Abe was an advocate of healthy eating. He preferred to graze than eat large portions and liked fruit, saying to lawyer Charles S Zane that apples “agree with me… a large percent of professional men abuse their stomachs by imprudence in drinking and eating, and in that way health is injured and life is shortened.” Saying that, his bodyguard William H Crook said he “was particularly fond of bacon.”

A connoisseur, the 3rd President of the United States had a broad palate. He was fond of dishes he’d sampled abroad while serving as Foreign Minister and brought recipes and ingredients back to the US. Though he loved native Virginia ham and sweet potatoes, he had a preference for French cooking and fresh, seasonal vegetables, and his wine of choice was Madeira. America’s love affair with waffles could even be attributed to Jefferson, who brought waffle irons back from Europe.