The news that Heston Blumenthal, the bad boy of British cooking, has teamed up with national treasure Delia Smith to advertise Waitrose has got tongues wagging across the foodie landscape this week.

Bear in mind that the former’s last series involved him concocting an increasingly bizarre array of feast dishes from yesteryear with his inimical sense of scientific precision, while the latter is renowned for being the saviour of hapless cooks everywhere with her clearly worded, practical recipes. So the pairing does seem an unlikely one.

But does Waitrose have what it takes to pull it off? Canny marketing can make all the difference in the food industry and this move could prove key in helping Waitrose maintain the momentum it has built up in recent months.

It may seem strange that a retailer that is already well regarded by the general public has chosen to follow in the footsteps of its rivals and head down the celebrity route, but I think that Waitrose is onto a good thing in selecting this polar culinary duo to front its brand. The Delia-Heston campaign promises to focus on proper cooking, with many of the adverts designed to be more like mini recipe demos. Let’s hope that these feature plenty of fresh produce as the campaign rolls on, and that Waitrose resists the temptation to mimic some of the other multiples and start homing in on price deals and bargains.

So what’s next - Katie Price and Peter Andre reunite for a Bovril campaign? Stranger things have happened...