Cliches of artery-furring dishes like white pudding and deep-fried Mars bars washed down with Irn-Bru have done little to dispel this image. Neither have the country's health statistics.
Figures for Scotland from the World Health Organisation (WHO) make depressing reading, with Portugal the only Western European country with a lower life expectancy. Even the Visit Scotland tourist board concedes that diet isn't the nation's strong point, admitting that its sweet tooth "helps to make central Scotland the heart-attack and tooth-decay capital of the world".
Scotland doesn't have the monopoly on dietary problems - Northern Ireland isn't far behind, while young people in many areas of England and Wales have poor eating habits - but it is still the worst offender. Millions of pounds have been spent on high-profile campaigns to wean people off Big Macs and Scotland's traditional offal-based delights, such as haggis.
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