Calls for supermarkets to change spelling of chicken 'Kiev' in solidarity with Ukraine

3 March 2022, 13:57

There are growing calls for supermarkets and brands to drop the Soviet spelling of their chicken Kievs, and instead call them chicken Kyivs.

Some brands have already made the change, with Irish food producer Finnebrogue - owner of the Better Naked brand - announcing the altered spelling "in solidarity with the Ukrainian people".

The brand also announced that half the profits from the product would go towards the humanitarian effort in Ukraine.

"We have renamed our plant-based Chicken Kiev to Kyiv in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, as they continue to defend their right to freedom and self-determination in the face of Putin’s invasion," the brand said on Twitter.

"We are also donating 50% of the profits from our Better Naked Kyiv to the humanitarian relief effort in Ukraine, starting with an immediate £10,000 donation to UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross."

Other brands have followed suit, including Dublin-based Fallon & Byrne and London's II Portico and Pino.

Now there are calls for other brands and restaurants, including major supermarkets, to change the spelling too.

One Twitter user wrote: "I still think @marksandspencer is missing a real trick in not renaming its iconic Chicken Kiev - a dish that launched the entire ready meal industry - as Chicken Kyiv and donating profits to Ukraine Red Cross or similar."

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Another said: "Chicken Kiev might now be the most inappropriately named dish in all the culinary world."

A number of supermarkets, including Morrisons and Sainsbury's, are reportedly considering the change.

LBC has approached all the major supermarkets for a comment.

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For many, changing the spelling of the word is seen as a small and peaceful way to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

The capital city was known as Kiev when the country was under Soviet rule - but the Ukrainian spelling is Kyiv.

Now that the sovereignty of the country is under threat, the Ukrainian spelling has been more widely adopted, with many news outlets and governments making a deliberate choice to reject the Russian translation of the word.