AND THE WINNER IS...

Donald Russell Chicken Kiev, £11 plus £5 p&p

The priciest one did not disappoint. Large, succulent breast that cooked beautifully and remained covered in its firm crumb. The gourmet filling included lots of lemon zest, seaweed, tarragon, parsley and Worcester sauce, as well as garlic. 8/10

Waitrose British Chicken Breast Fillet Kievs, £3.90

Nice chicken accompanied by an unremarkable crumb and filling. Disappointing for the price. 5/10

M&S Garlic Chicken Kiev £3

Yuck. Bottom of everyone’s list. They looked small and sad once cooked, the crumb was chewy, the meat unpalatable and the filling uneven with a peculiar aftertaste. It silenced the table, and not in a good way. 3/10

Sainsbury’s Garlic Chicken Kiev, £4.25

Identified, wrongly, as an expensive gourmet candidate, because of their enormous size and the gorgeous deep colour of the sourdough crumb once cooked. A generous helping of chicken would have benefited from a lot more seasoning in the filling, which had excellent squidge factor but tasted bland. 6/10

Aldi Ashfield Farm Garlic Chicken Kievs, £1.75

The best for price by far. The firm crumb was the only one that completely kept its shape, the meat was soft and tasty and the filling ultra buttery rather than oily. A revelation. 8/10

Tesco Garlic Chicken Breast Kievs, £3.50

The classic supermarket kiev. Good meat, a crowd-pleaser of a filling with garlic and parsley and a crisp parsley-flecked crumb. Thumbs-up. 7/10

Charlie C Bingham’s Chicken Kiev With W Sunblush Tomato, £6.50

Our clear winner. The sparse ciabatta crumb made these kievs look naked and unappetising compared to the rest, but this was the softest and most flavoursome chicken. The delicious creamy herby garlic filling had everyone hunting for more. 9/10