There’s a world of difference between Delia Smith and Pippa Middleton when it comes to tips about food, but that hasn’t stopped Waitrose ditching the former and giving the latter her own column in its magazine.
Pippa’s Friday Night Feasts will advise on the best meals to start the weekend off with friends.
“It will be an exciting opportunity to share my own passion and enthusiasm for food and entertaining,” said Pippa Middleton, 29.
A picture of a beaming Pippa Middleton features on the front cover of the latest edition of the Waitrose Kitchen magazine.
She said: “I’m delighted to be writing for Waitrose Kitchen, a magazine that’s always been a source of inspiration to me.”
Editor William Sitwell said his latest signing would be “an excellent contributor…bringing with her a wealth of experience of entertaining”.
He added: “Readers will love her relaxed and easy entertaining ideas which will help with the preparation for all sorts of occasions.”
The company refused to issue a copy of the first column due out on March 28.
However, if Pippa Middleton’s book Celebrate is anything to go by readers can expect such illuminating advice as having a bonfire on Bonfire Night and serving pumpkin soup in a hollowed-out pumpkin at Halloween.
The decision by Waitrose to drop Delia Smith earlier this year was met with uproar among many of its customers, who have relied on her cooking know-how for decades.
The deal with Waitrose follows further evidence of how the Middletons appear to be cashing in on their association with the Royal Family.
In December, only weeks after the announcement that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting her first child, the Middletons’ Party Pieces website presented a range of baby goods.
The “Little Prince” and “Little Princess” party packs are described as suitable for American-style baby showers.
Last year, the website set up by Pippa and Kate Middleton’s mother Carole in 1987, offered paraphernalia themed around the Royal Wedding and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Shoppers will have to pay £1.20 ($1.9) a month for a copy of the Waitrose magazine if they want to discover Pippa Middelton’s advice on feasting, although it is free to those with Waitrose and John Lewis cards.
The column on the magazine appears to be part of a PR strategy to create a Pippa Middleton brand.
She has started using her name and photograph to promote the products sold on the Party Pieces website.
This significant move to boost Pippa Middleton’s own profile occurred in between her holidaying in Mustique with stockbroker Nico Jackson, 35, and then taking off on a skiing trip with him in Zermatt.
