Value for money: Shepherd's Pies

Marks & Spencer Gastropub Welsh Hill Lamb Shepherd's pie €7.49 for 660g €11.35 per kg Highs:Well, there are no flies on M&S when it comes to long-winded names for its products.

We are comforted to know that not any old lamb goes into this, but Welsh lamb, and not even any old Welsh lamb at that, but Welsh lamb that has spent some time on hills. Mind you, it's lucky they told us or we wouldn't have noticed, as the lamb plays second fiddle to the potato which is genuinely excellent. The leeks are quite pleasant too.

Lows: It is very salty and half a pie provides a startling 48 per cent of your guideline daily salt allowance. It's also expensive and, while it is not bad by any means, it is strangely dull: once Pricewatch had finished the entire pie, it could barely remember what it tasted like.

Verdict: Nice but dull

Star rating: ***

Tesco Finest Shepherd's Pie

€5.50 for 800g, €6.87 per kg

Highs: At 30 per cent, this has a considerably higher percentage of lamb than any of the competition. The red wine and rosemary-enriched gravy is very tasty and the mash is wonderfully creamy and tastes of real potato. It also has a nice, wholesome-sounding ingredient list and comes across as surprisingly home-made for a mass-produced product. It is also the cheapest of the pies tried.

Lows: While the sauce is lovely and rich, it could have done with a few more chunky vegetables, if we are to be really picky. It is also on the thin side, so getting intact slices onto the plate might be a bit of a challenge, and it took the longest to cook (although to be fair to it, that was because it was the biggest).

Verdict: Top nosh

Star rating: ****

Douglas Hide Good Food Company Shepherd's Pie

€5.99 for 450g, €13.31 per kg

Highs: From a small company in Crosshaven, Co Cork, this is a real find. It is made with beef rather than lamb, which is how Pricewatch likes it, and the addition of small pieces of bacon was a welcome surprise. It has a very pure and simple ingredient list and is, the makers assure us, made by hand. Normally, we don't believe such claims but this actually tastes home-made. The potato crisped up beautifully and wasn't left swimming in sauce.

Lows: There did not seem to be a whole lot of the filling and while the people at Douglas Hide say it serves one, we could have easily eaten this and another one all by ourselves. It might be hard to track down - we found it in Fresh in Smithfield.

Verdict: Excellent

Star rating: *****

Glencove Fresh Shepherd's Pie

€3.98 for 400g, €9.95 per kg

Highs: Another Irish pie (from Waterford this time) which is made with beef rather than lamb. It actually tastes really nice, with the range of complex flavours complementing each other nicely. The carrots retain much of their texture and taste and the top layer of potato crisps up beautifully. Surprisingly, given both its nice taste and home-made nature, it is comparatively cheap.

Lows: While some of the potato crisped up nicely, most of it unfortunately had dissolved into the flavoursome soup underneath and the whole affair became a mushy mess which reminded us too much of baby food. At just 16 per cent, it also has less beef than any of its rivals.

Verdict: Nice but gloopy

Star rating: ***

Denny Shepherd's Pie

€3.99 for 350g, €11.40 per kg

Highs: This is the cheapest option and the only Irish-made pie that was made with lamb. The "potato topping" browns up nicely and it doesn't taste as bad as you'd think after reading the ingredient list.

Lows: The "potato topping" is not, you see, potato but a mish-mash of 10 different things including dried potato and hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose. The lamb doesn't really taste of anything and the gravy has a decidedly gloopy texture and a distinctly processed taste. It's not horrible by any means but does not compare well to the posher (and admittedly considerably more expensive) options we tried.

Verdict: Not so good

Star rating: **