21-07-2025
Man tests £16 Harrods chicken Kiev to see how it compares to the £6 M&S variety - with very surprising results
A food fanatic has revealed that he prefers M&S 's £6.75 chicken Kiev over the £16 version from Harrods.
Carmie Sellitto tested both varieties the Ukrainian staple but felt that the high street chain's version was a tastier meal - despite being less than half the price.
The British TikToker, who goes by the name @touchdalight online, said 'in some chicken Kievs you get a lot of overpowered flavours but this is just perfect' when reviewing M&S's version.
He added that 'the garlic butter in this is actually incredible, the flavour is brilliant and even the coating of the chicken is perfect'.
But the luxury department store's imitation left much to be desired, despite costing considerably more.
'This is three times more expensive [sic] than the M&S one so it better taste three times better,' he commented as he unpacked the meal.
When he first cuts into the chicken, Mr Selitto exclaims 'what! Look at the garlic butter in there' and showed the food to the camera.
Whereas M&S's version had garlic butter 'bursting out' when it was sliced, the Harrods sauce held its shape more and did not trickle out in the same way.
Mr Selitto, who often makes videos comparing food, said it 'kind of looks like pea sauce' but noted that 'it's pretty loaded with chicken to be fair, you can't go wrong with that'.
However, the fault the critic had issue most with was its allegedly strong lemon flavours.
He said: 'The sauce is really good to be fair, I really like that, but I'm getting mad hints of lemon which I don't like too much.
'The sauce is also a lot thicker than the M&S one, I'm assuming they've got completely different ingredients because they taste very different.
'The sauce is very overpowering in this.'
He added: 'I do prefer the breadcrumbs on the M&S one, it just feels more crunchy and this one is more soggy.'
The influencer then concluded: 'I would rate the M&S one a nine out of 10 and the Harrods one a 8.5 out of 10.'
He explained this was due to the pricing but remained unconvinced if he would choose the Harrods variety if it cost the same.
'I think its mainly because of the pricing but if they were the same price maybe I'd buy Harrods but then again I'm not sure,' he said.
On its website, Harrods advertises its Chicken Kiev at £16 (despite Mr Sellitto saying he bought his for £14) and served two people.
The M&S variety said that it served one person.
Chicken Kievs caused a huge debate in 2023 over its pronunciation - in a one-off Christmas special, William Sitwell delivered a homemade version on Celebrity Masterchef, but the dish was repeatedly pronounced as 'Chicken Kyiv.'
The pronunciation, which has been re-adopted by Ukranians following the country's invasion by Russia in February 2022, caught many viewers off-guard.
One posted: 'WTH... have I been saying it wrong all thes years???,' and another shared: '#masterchef we all been calling it wrong should be chick keev not chicken kieyev.'
The pronounciation, which has been re-adopted by Ukranians following the country's invasion by Russia in February 2022, caught many viewers off-guard
A third posted: 'So, are there any other obviously uncultured souls out there, who still pronounce it chicken kiev, rather than chicken keeev?'
'I've just learned I've been pronouncing chicken Kiev wrong,' one added.
'Kiev' was the standardised spelling for the city under Soviet rule, but recent Russian aggression has seen more Western institutions heed calls to abandon it in favour of the Ukrainian alternative.
And after the invasion began in 2022, many shoppers called for supermarkets to rename the dish as chicken kviv.
