GENEVA, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - Leading European physicists will feast on a molecular gastronomy buffet at the inauguration of the multi-billion dollar machine designed to shed light on the 'Big Bang,' a statement said Thursday.

The buffet will be the work of award-winning chefs Ferran Adria and Ettore Bocchia. The chefs are famed for their molecular gastronomy cuisine which involves using different textures, temperatures and combinations as well as unusual cooking techniques.

The inauguration ceremony on October 21 would also feature exhibitions, an audiovisual concert and the music of Philip Glass, said the statement by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).

The giant experiment called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) took nearly 20 years to complete and cost six billion Swiss francs (3.76 billion euros, 5.46 billion dollars) to build in a tunnel complex under the Franco-Swiss border.

The LHC was launched to global fanfare on September 10 but almost immediately hit problems due to a faulty electrical connection which caused a massive helium leak.

As a result the experiment itself will be out of action for almost eight months but officials said earlier the inauguration would go ahead as planned.

The LHC aims to resolve some of the greatest questions surrounding fundamental matter, such as how particles acquire mass and how they were forged some 13.7 billion years ago.