Kenwood Chef a901 ( vintage)

[Knittingnanny]

My latest food processor has broken and instead of buying another one I decided to get my 1970’s chef out of the attic where it has been since it was given to me 2 nd hand in the mid 90’s. Just had it sorted out at the repair shop and hopefully have saved a lot of money. Can’t believe they are nearly £400 new!
It has a k beater and a dough hook, but no manual or whisk, or any other attachments.
Is the manual useful to get? Might be able to find one on eBay.
Which attachment is for pastry, scones etc.?
Which attachment would I find useful now I don’t have a processor. Eg would a liquidiser be an asset?
Any ideas about where I can find list of attachments that will fit these old models?
Thanks in advance.

[Wombleish]

We bought an oldish, secondhand Kenwood FP and found the instruction manual on their website, have you had a look there? I don't know how far back they'd go.

[ChicCroissant]

I think you can download the manuals from the Kenwood website (or you used to) and they have a guide as to which attachments fits which machine.

Is yours one of the blue and white ones?

[MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours]

can I be really cheeky and ask how much it cost to repair, I have one and would love to get it going again

I inherited it in a house we bought and it was left in the back of a cupboard!

[SpringFan]

I am impressed that you were able to get it repaired! I still have mine, from 1980, but I was warned that they might not be able to get spare parts in future. So I replaced it for making bread and heavy stuff about 15 years ago. Now that one is in for repair.
I have looked for spares for my newer one recently, and many of those were already discontinued. So, if you can find it, I recommend the liquidiser. The whisk is useful if you make merangues at all, and I use a shredder slicer for making soup.

[Knittingnanny]

Thanks for your replies, I looked on the Kenwood site and they don’t seem to have the a901 and the only one at the moment on eBay is a second hand one for £12!
It’s black and white.
Apparently there is not much to go wrong. It was emitting a burning smell and smoked a bit when I turned it on. Phoned a local repair shop and took it in yesterday. Today the man called me to say the repair charge would be £20 plus parts, it needed realigning, new capacitors (?) a new plug and a new washer! Total cost of parts was £19 .
Picking it up tomorrow and he seems fairly certain it will work. Apparently the previous owner had taken it to bits, reassembled it not quite right and the belt was rubbing against the top plastic casing melting it a bit.
Some parts are hard to come by he said, but the plastic casing is still perfectly functional.
Might try searching for a liquidiser.
I think it is so heavy that it is something to keep out on the worktop? Might get used more!

[Knittingnanny]

Msmighty, go for it! I went with a recommendation for a local independent electrical repair store. The young man certainly seemed to think they were well worth repairing.

[MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours]

i might give it a bash...although I have just looked them up on the WWW, your's is the model my mother had, her pride and joy! She has a stainless steel modern version now

Mine is a A700D so older again...but I could use it in the boat if I got it going again.

[Knittingnanny]

I read that as “ use it as a boat”!!!

[MsMightyTitanAndHerTroubadours]

hah! I said to dh you had got your Kenwood repaired, and mentioned I could use the old one at the boat ...he thought the motor might not be powerful enough but it would make a good mud anchor.

:o

[Ariela]

I've a 901K, best model IMO. Liquidiser is great and definitely a whisk.

[SirVixofVixHall]

I still have my Mum’s Kenwood , from the 1960s. I had it serviced locally and bought a replacement glass bowl on ebay, as it was broken.
Ebay is great for all the extras, I also managed to replace the glass liquidiser.

[Wombleish]

This is why I love Kenwood, being able to buy extras and replacement parts. I originally bought a cheapy brand on Amazon, but the third or fourth time I used it, to grate cheese, the whole spindle bit cracked and sheared off. I should have taken more notice of the reviewers who said the company didn't do replacement parts. Ended up buying a second hand Multi Pro for half the price. There's loads of spares on eBay.

[SpringFan]

Just be careful with replacement parts and spares. As well as the elderly A901 I have a KM001 which is 15 years old. I bought a replacement spindle for the dough hook. Didn't realise they had changed the spec during the life of the model- something to do with a circlip. Useless for me and the part I need is discontinued.
My KM is waiting for a new gearbox as I type. I think I wear them out making bread! Still, its £50 rather than a new one.

[SpringFan]

OP - if you can't get a manual, I think I still have mine and can scan it if needed.

[Knittingnanny]

That would very kind of you many thanks.
Shall I send you my email address via a private message?
I think I will look on eBay for a liquidiser, found a whisk on there today which I’ve bought.
Hope to pick up the repaired chef tomorrow, I was waiting for a new belt to arrive so he could fit that at the same time ( £6 ) and will report back on how it works!

[Knittingnanny]

Re ps re the scanning, not worried the recipe pages just the general info thanks

[Girlwhowearsglasses]

I was talking to DS (11) the other day about Kenwood Chefs and explains why I wouldn’t buy him the food mixer on offer at Lidl. My DMs from 1970 finally gave up the ghost a couple of years ago and she now has a new Kenwood Chef. I don’t think she likes it as much

[Knittingnanny]

Girls, you are right, I’ve had a couple of food processors that have lasted a couple of years only . I’ve been told the chef could last me another 30 years,,,,, I’ll be 93 in that case!

[Apolloanddaphne]

My DM had a Kenwood Chefette when I was growing up. It was fantastic. The liquidiser was amazing. I wish she still had it.

[MsPavlichenko]

I have a Kenwood and love it. Not used it as processor other than liquidiser. For processors can recommend Magimimx for longevity.

[MsPavlichenko]

Magimimx.

[MsPavlichenko]

Magimix. Finally.

[cdtaylornats]

www.kenwoodchefrestore.co.uk/shop/kenwood-chef-user-manual

[SpringFan]

Hi
Found it!! I have also got the leaflet that came with the dough hook as well- it was an extra when I got my 901.
Happy to scan both/either if you haven't followed cdtaylornats 's link.
PM me your contact details if you want. However, I might not have time to do it until the weekend if thats OK.

[FamilyOfAliens]

My mum still uses her 901 and keeps it out on the worktop.

She got it in the 70s and I remember helping her make the tangerine mousse recipe from the manual, which became a staple of family dinner parties