Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
  I'm hooked - it's completely fab! December 11, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
12 years ago, a boyfriend bought me a food processor for Christmas and I cried with disappointment and asked him if we could return it for something more exciting.... fool that I was!!!
I'm older and wiser now and have fallen deeply in love.... with my Kenwood Chef KM001!
I bought my machine in Summer 2007 for 175 (half price as it was being discontinued from the store in favour of a 'newer' model). For that price I got the KM001 machine with stainless steel bowl, K-beater, whisk, dough hook, splatter guard, recipe book, liquidiser and food processor.
Since then, I've also acquired (via ebay) the potato peeler, multimill, and mincer.
Of all of the attachments, the potato peeler and mincer are my favourites. The potato peeler is a bit of a gimmick really, but I love that I can make a 'proper dinner' without getting my hands dirty. I just tip a bag of dirty spuds and baby carrots from my organic box into the peeler and it washes and scrapes them while I throw other things in the oven. The mincer is brill too. I bought an older version for the A901 Chef, from ebay, which works fine though it doesn't have the sausage or kebbe maker included. It's a fabby attachment, I actually cooked a whole leg of lamb when it first arrived, just so that I could mince the leftovers and make 'real' shepherd's pie, lol :) The multimill is also a nice attachment (again from ebay and for the A901), with 4 separate glass jars and lids, ideal for making small portions of hummous, chopping a single onion, grinding spices,etc and storing them afterwards. It feels like a huge leap of faith to believe that the same blade can be rinsed and used again for a completely different food... and I confess I haven't yet used it for coffee beans since its main use so far is for onions and garlic.... maybe I will try one day!
The main mixing bowl is just superb! The stainless steel bowl and tools mean that it makes perfect pastry and whipped cream, even on the hottest of days. The splashguard helps to keep the mess levels down when making perfect cakes and batter (I say 'helps' because there is no cut-off function when you raise the head of the machine clear of the bowl... I discovered this while beating fluffy mashed potato... I turned the dial to high speed instead of to 'off' and nicely decorated the wall!!!! But that's a lesson I only needed to learn once.....)
The attachments I have used least are actually the ones that came included in the package. I expect that I'll use the blender more in summer for smoothies and iced drinks, but never got round to it at the tail end of summer when I bought the machine. For soups I still prefer to use my 5 Tesco stick blender, straight in the pan. The food processor is the only real disappointment. It is much smaller than the one I gave away in the fit of excitement when I first bought the Chef, and I miss my old one, to be honest.... so I might buy the high speed continouous shredder/slicer next in order to help me get over that loss ;)
Overall, I really do love my Chef. I would never have paid the full price for it but I'm so glad I have it now. It looks sleek and lovely on the worktop. However, don't be fooled into thinking it will save you very much kitchen space - the attachments take a monstrous amount of room -almost as much as having individual gadgets I would say... but the Kenwood and its attachments seem tough as old boots so I have no worries about my choice and I am proud of my dedicated Kenwood cupboard which houses all the goodies!
5 star, definitely!
The best of the best October 28, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have used this machine for 40 years - my wife says more than 40 -
IT IS BRILLIANT - does what it should and what else can you ask ?
Buy quality and live forever !!!!!!!!!!!!!
Replacing a Kenwood Chef November 30, 2006
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
After nearly 30 years service my old Kenwood Chef finally stopped working. I looked at the other makes and models on the market and decided that despite its high cost there was nothing else to match the specification, build quality and efficiency of a Kenwood Chef. I was not disappointed with my choice.
If, as I do, you regularly make cake, pastry or royal icing you will not be disappointed. The deep bowel and planetary action ensure that small quantities are mixed as well as large. This is a hard working, labour saving work horse and if I get as many years from this new Kenwood as I did from my last I will be very satisfied.
 If You Like Cooking Great Real Food - This Is A Must October 30, 2005
45 out of 46 found this review helpful
The Kenwood Chef is a must for all of you out there that want to make great food - and more importantly know what has actually gone into it. The construction of the Chef is excellent (with the exception of the liquidiser - see below) and more importantly, looks good as well. This version has more power than previous models, although we couldn't tell the difference to be honest (maybe its psychological as this one is just so quiet), but nevertheless this should increase the life of the product.The Chef is smaller than the one our mother's probably had (see the Major for this size), but we find it more than adequate, regularly catering for 8 and 10 people at our chalet without it ever having been found wanting. All in all, strongly recommend it, along with a Kenwood hand whisk. Only down side for us was that the liquidiser. It's 'drive' is made of plastic and on its first use failed (glue just came unstuck) - and against the metal of the Chef you can probably guess what then happened. This latter point is just one of the reasons to use Amazon - great returns system and really passionate about customer service (piece of mind you don't get with many of the others).
Magimix for sale!! June 23, 2005
24 out of 25 found this review helpful
I wish I'd come across this before I bought my magimix. Much more versatile and great to look at too. Heavy duty materials, well crafted. Mincer attachment is a must.
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