Perfect picnic food is simple, elegant, and delicious, based around much-loved classics. Hilda Leyel was extraordinarily before her time, influencing generations of foodies with inventive recipes where retro meets modern, such as egg mayonnaise on crusty bread; watercress, beetroot and nasturtium salad; chicken and leek pie; and spiced plum cake and salted almonds. She championed local, seasonal ingredients like watercress and asparagus; she promoted traditional recipes from raised pies to strawberries and cream; and she set a benchmark of refinement with crab soufflé and spaghetti and truffles. Take a warm summer's day, a secluded spot in the dappled shade, a blanket and a bottle of wine, friends and family, and a spread of delicious homemade food, and it all adds up to that timeless rustic idyll—the perfect picnic. Includes U.S. measurements.