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Original poster

Has anyone got any of these and which would you recommend and which would you say not to buy?

23 replies

TheOriginalFAB · 03/07/2011 16:03

Starter Kenwood
Very expensive Kenwood
Kitchen Aid

I will be looking to replace my food processor soon and do a lot of baking.

OP posts:
mimmymouse · 03/07/2011 19:12

I have a Kitchen Aid. (Wedding present!) I love it. Used for all sorts of baking. With the dough hook, it is brilliant. I bake a lot! Have a Magimix for all the other stuff. Between the 2 I don't want for much.

TBH I could probably do just about everything in the Magimix. The Kitchen Aid was an indulgence.

Happy shopping Smile

bigbadbarry · 03/07/2011 19:15

I've got a Very Expensive kenwood: i love it and use it all the time. On pay per use it is actually a very cheap bit of kit

Original poster
TheOriginalFAB · 03/07/2011 19:36

I read the reviews on Lakeland and there were quite a few negatives with the cheaper ones but then others liked it. TBH I am finding it hard as I can't see what more I am getting with the expensive one than the cheaper one, other than the timer.

OP posts:
bigbadbarry · 03/07/2011 19:54

My VEK doesn't have a timer actually - it's the previous model. However, I can tell you that the cheaper one has a much less powerful motor and I think it doesn't fit all the attachments. So I guess you need to decide what exactly you want it for.

BiscuitNibbler · 03/07/2011 20:02

I have the same Kenwood as bigbadbarry and it is amazing. So powerful and versatile, I couldn't live without it now. Loads of attachments too, which mean you get a lot of use out of it and can dispense with other gadgets.

Original poster
TheOriginalFAB · 03/07/2011 20:16

I don't use all the attachments with my current do-dah but if I got the VEK or KA it would live on the counter and always be accessible.

OP posts:
TheGashlycrumbTinies · 03/07/2011 20:20

Kitchen Aid here too, used lots.

DonaAna · 03/07/2011 20:42

KA mixer is my favorite small appliance - mine is a lovely anthracite gray and every time I see it I feel good (have had it for 10+ years). Will consider asking to be buried with it so that future archaeologists can keep scratching their heads. Kenwood is just ugly and robotic in a strange DrWhoesque way.

redglow · 03/07/2011 22:33

I love my kitchen aid. Have used the kenwood its ok but it just does not look nice.

HazeltheMcWitch · 04/07/2011 00:41

Oh, I always post on these threads, extolling the virtues of my lovely Kenwood - known in my house as Ken, natch.

Like the other posters, I didn't get the one with the timer - you REALLY don't need a timer, OR the cooking one! I have the Ken Chef Titanium, currently £325 on Amazon. I lurked for a while, deciding between Ken and the KA and chose Ken, buying when the price was low. Lower than current.

I really do love it. I use it for baking, mostly - so dough, cake-mixing, egg white-whisking etc. The flexi-beater on Ken makes sure that all the mixture is mixed in from the sides of the bowl. The KA has no flexi beater!

The blender that it comes with is glass, and great. The processor is fab too. In fact I don't have another processor.

You can buy a million and one attachments, although you can also for the KA. I have the ice cream maker, which I also love.

As to aesthetics - I think my Ken is a Beat! Yes, the KA is pretty but Ken has style and is slightly less hairdresserey conformist!

HazeltheMcWitch · 04/07/2011 00:41

Er, Ken is not a 'beat', he is a BEAUT.

Original poster
TheOriginalFAB · 04/07/2011 08:11

I am even more confused now!!

OP posts:
bigbadbarry · 04/07/2011 09:43

My Ken is very gorgeous too :) I also use the icecream maker often, and the liquidiser. (And I, too, don't need another FP - in fact, I got rid of that, a stick blender, and an electric whisk when I got it.)
That said, the glass bowl on the KA is amazing :)
Sorry...

nannyl · 04/07/2011 09:45

have use the cheap kenwood.

It is fab and well used, and you can get loads of extra attachments if you want / need them.

My Mums (wedding present 30 years ago) is still going strong, my grandmothers died a few years ago but would have been at least 30 - 40 years old.
Had one at work nannying too, (ie THAT one, rather than an old equivilent model) and used it loads. A fab bit of kit that does nearly everything. We also used it at their holiday home and the potatoe peeler attachment was fab and doing potatoes for 12. Also had the mincer for proper minced meat, and we used the sausage maker too.
My mum and grandmother have the liquidiser attachment which is perfect for soup and smoothies.

We lived close to the kenwood factory so always bought one (at huge discount) from the factory shop

Original poster
TheOriginalFAB · 04/07/2011 10:20

I need a poll as I just don't know what to do. The cheaper one does look small and cheaper next to the VEK but I have to stop buying things because they look nice. It is a lot of money to spend...

OP posts:
bigbadbarry · 04/07/2011 11:47

The VEK can be picked up for about £300 from places that are not Lakeland - I think mine came from here but I see amazon has it for £325 (no timer). You do need to shop around a bit to make sure you are comparing the same deals - some places throw in extra attachments etc

BiscuitNibbler · 04/07/2011 13:39

We bought our Kenwood at Costco for about £300. Lakeland are always more expensive for things like this.

Nannyl makes a good point - my mum's Kenwood was a wedding present 41 years ago and is still going strong despite constant use, and my Gran's outlived her.

moonbells · 04/07/2011 14:03

I have an old Kenwood 901A. They came out in the mid-1970s and this one came via the mum of one of my mother's friends.

I make iced fruit cakes, including some whose ingredients literally fill the bowl. The chef copes with it all admirably, though so far in 9 years I have blown the speed control capacitors twice (what a pong!) but both times found it easy to source replacements online and solder them into place. Total fix about a tenner each time (as against a lot more for a service call).

Mixer is still happily going, with the new bits. My mother still has her old one (1960s vintage) and has been fixed once I believe though has been gathering dust a while now as she is getting on a bit and doesn't bake any more.

You can get old 901s on ebay for a pittance.
And if they go POP and stink, are easily fixed!

Gingefringe · 04/07/2011 16:34

Can't believe the price of a food mixer!!??

Having said that, the KA is absolutely stunning.

valiumredhead · 05/07/2011 18:11

We got the full size version of the first link - and it was only £120, we bought it on line ( can't remember where, we just googled iirc) that seems very pricey for what it is!

LordOfTheFlies · 05/07/2011 22:36
Envy

I madly coveted the KA but had to let head rule heart.

Haven't got the space for it( it would be best on the worktop to admire and get envious glances to save lugging it about)
Got the K-mix hand held. Does the job, looks nifty and doesn't take up to much room. About £45-£55 but paid less at CostCo

SirenSusan · 05/07/2011 22:47

Have a KA - chosen because an appliance that has to sit on the work surface has to look as good as it performs. I know they have now refined the SEK but it still doesn't match the KA in the looks dept.

ThisIsJustASagaNow · 05/07/2011 23:09

I have this Kenwood and it's fab. Very very happySmile

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