Pippa Middleton's perfect picnic column in Waitrose calls for vanilla bean paste and dried lavender Pippa's Provencal Picnic is intended as romantic meal for two Includes fig and goat's cheese fougasse Also on the menu is peach and vanilla fizz made with sparking wine The total cost of the menu is £60.02 for two, or £30.01 per person Published in Waitrose magazine as her second Friday Night Feast column By Claire Ellicott Perhaps it's all down to her fledgling romance with her dashing stock- broker boyfriend. Or maybe it has something to do with her younger brother James's new relationship with television presenter Donna Air. Whatever the case, love was clearly on Pippa Middleton's mind when she wrote her most recent recipe instalment for Waitrose - a "romantic picnic for two." In the piece, the socialite sister of the Duchess of Cambridge extols the benefits of "whisk[ing] away someone special for an evening of gazing and grazing." Picnic time: If your name happens to be Pippa Middleton, the humble strawberry jam sandwich simply doesn't cut the mustard on a spring picnic, as you'll discover in the new edition of Waitrose Kitchen The 29-year-old's Provencal Picnic menu includes peach and vanilla fizz, a fig and goat's cheese fougasse - a type of bread associated with Provence - smoked chicken and melon salad and strawberry and lavender cheesecake jars. But frankly it would be cheaper - never mind easier - to head to a nice restaurant. Because to buy all the ingredients from Waitrose and cook the meal from scratch would cost almost £100 for two people. That figure is based on the first relevant choices available on the supermarket's website, ranked in terms of popularity. If you follow Miss Middleton's advice, you would also need to invest in tea towels "with French stripes," enamel plates and quilted rugs, adding £85 to the total. For the utmost authenticity, you'd need to fly to Provence, too - a snip at £1,014 for two people, based on a return flight with British Airways. Even without a trip away, anyone attempting their own version of her latest "Friday Night Feast" would be advised to take the day off - it takes at least two and a half hours to prepare. Fragrant: One of Pippa's recipes calls for dried lavender. Unfortunately, the flower is not available at Waitrose Tasty: According to Pippa, her strawberry and lavender cheesecake jars will be a hit with your man Despite this Miss Middleton, who is dating stockbroker Nico Jackson, 35, still advises readers to "quickly prep, pack, then whisk away someone special." Her tips are unlikely to go down well with hard-working mothers, or indeed anyone who works full-time. Miss Middleton became the face of Waitrose after the company ditched Delia Smith when her three-year contract ended in January. Her first column for Waitrose Kitchen magazine caused controversy because of the price of the ingredients involved. In this month's column, her second, Miss Middleton waxes lyrical as she describes how her menu is inspired by Provence. She writes: "Here's my vision of the perfect picnic. I'm in Provence, in a field just off the beaten track, where we've parked the car and thrown a quilted rug across the dry, parched grasses. Fight back: Delia has said she won't cook any of Pippa's recipes, as featured in Waitrose Kitchen magazine The hazy sky is cobalt blue, cicadas hum around us and it's hot, very hot. But not too hot for a picnic. Around us are plump peaches, figs and strawberries, oozing ripe cheeses and crunchy baguettes, torn and ready to mop up every last morsel. A spokesman for Waitrose said the menu cost £57.13, based on its own calculations. That figure used prices for whole packs of ingredients. It added up to £23.83 if only the quantities required were taken into account. She added: "Typically many of our customers would have some of the basic store cupboard ingredients - so their shopping lists would be considerably cheaper. Our shoppers are savvy and will typically shop across our different ranges when buying ingredients for recipes. She said that the Daily Mail had chosen "many of the expensive options." The Mail chose the most popular items, in the smallest size packs available. 'A subtle aperitif with a hint of lemon and vanilla,' says Pippa. 'The base can be topped up with lemonade instead of sparkling water or wine, and any leftovers can be frozen in ice cube trays for another day - they'll keep in the freezer for up to a month. Ingredients: Caster sugar - 99p Vanilla pods - £2.49 Lemon - 34p Peaches - £3 for four Sparkling wine (La Rosca Brut NV Cava) - £6.99 Serves: Two Total: £13.81 or £6.90 each 'This elegant bread combines some of my favourite Provencal delicacies: wild herbs, sweet figs and salty goat's cheese,' reveals Pippa. Flour - 80p Salt (Saxa brand) - 85p Quick yeast (Doves Farm brand) - £1.15 Virgin olive oil - £1.45 Herbes de Provence - £1.59 Soft dried figs - £2.49 Goat's cheese - £1.65 Makes: One Total: £9.98 Pippa says: 'Experiment with the filling by adding bulgar wheat, feta or green beans.' Red onion - 90p Canteloupe melon - £2 Pack of smoked chicken (Rannoch brand specified) - £3.59 Baby plum tomatoes - £1.99 Cucumber - 80p Flat leaf parsley - £1.69 Raspberries - £2.29 Extra virgin olive oil - £1.49 Red wine vinegar - £1.15 Clear honey - £1.68 Tarragon leaves -80p Total: £18.38 or £9.19 per person 'This pud-to-go is like a biscuity Eton mess with a subtle hint of lavender,' says Pippa. Strawberries - £2.20 Dried lavender - £3.50, from lavenderworld.co.uk Caster sugar - 99p Lemon juice - 34p Marscapone cheese - £1.65 Greek yoghurt - 89p Soft cheese (Philadelphia brand specified) - £2.40 Icing sugar - £1 Vanilla bean paste (Taylor & Colledge brand) - £3.99 Scottish shortbread fingers - 89p Makes: Two Total: £17.85 or £8.92 per person Grand Total: £60.02 for two or £30.01 per person Prices are taken from the Waitrose website and are for Waitrose own-brand products unless specified