Kenwood Chef - do I/don't I?

Pitlanepiglet

Wow lucky you being given one, I've been trying to buy one second hand but they are sooooo expensive and I was worried about getting one that was duff, so it's great that you know the history of yours.

I wouldn't sell it, you can use it for all sorts of baking, I've been using a hand mixer and a small bowl and I keep decorating the kitchen with pastry and cake mix.

I think there is a label on the underside of the Chef that tells you what model number it is.

ubamother

tip - do not put the k beater etc. in a dishwasher - don't know how exactly but the coating on them comes off and after that they continually give off a black residue so are unusable - I speak from bitter experience!

Pitlanepiglet

catnap53 wrote: »

Anyway, then did a bit of internet research for prices and decided that I really needed one. Needed to go into town to drop off DS, so thought we could go to look in JL, (199 pounds for the classic), but called into Costco on the way to see if they had one. They had the KM560 for 211 and I couldn't remember what the difference was apart from the motor (1000 watt v 800 watt), or the price.

Snap Catnap, I also bought that model from Costco yesterday having gone to John Lewis and prodded them :rotfl:. Costco's customer service and returns policy is so good that I'd rather buy from them.

I'd found the cheap Classic 336 on a website for £135 but it doesn't have the liquidiser or the splashguard/pourer and it's the lower wattage motor.

You should have a leaflet with yours with the attachments, I'm going to order the mincer and the high speed slicer as well and I couldn't find them cheaper elsewhere even though there is a postage charge.

I feel very guilty about spending so much money, having been so skint for so long it's difficult to realise that we are slightly solvent now and as we don't waste money (I even walk 2 miles to work to save the £1.80 bus fare!) we can afford it but it's just soooo much money.

We needed a mincer though and the plastic one I bought didn't work so I took it back yesterday, we can't have a metal one as we've got nowhere to clamp it to so the next step is a standalone electric mincer at £60 so this way I can use the Kenwood gizmo instead. Plus I lost custody of my food processor to my ex four years ago and the slicing thing will give me that back without having another gadget in the kitchen.

God, you can see how guilty I feel about it, Hubby says it's fine and he's really excited by it as well...I just need to get past the guilt first which is a bit sad.

Penelope_Penguin

alice's_mum wrote: »

Not sure what she thinks I'm gonna do with it! It still goes the motor sounds ok, though there is a terrible smell, probably from not being used for 15 or so years. I don't really do cake making - we're not a great cake eaters. It's come with a k shaped thing and balloon type thing and a liquidiser. Anyone any ideas as to what I should do with it. - OH thinks I should stick it on ebay is this a realistic thing to do - it must weigh a tonne to post. Don't even know what number it is they all seem to have numbers on ebay.

Thanks Liz

Hi there :beer: I've used my Kenwood every week for 15 years, and wouldn't be without it

I'll add this to the existing thread on whether or not to have a Kenwood, so that you can browse the opinions of others

Penny. x

catnap53

I feel very guilty about spending so much money, having been so skint for so long it's difficult to realise that we are slightly solvent now and as we don't waste money

I agree Pitlanepiglet, a bit of an outlay, and felt even guiltier this morning, but if I can convert DH to HM bread for his lunches I will save a lot. Although he likes my bread, I couldn't keep up with the amount he eats doing one pound of flour at a time. The teenagers at 6th form college will also take HM bread or rolls for lunch, they are currently going to Tesco every day:eek: which is the nearest shop and also more than half a mile each way. I don't mind them having the exercise, but they have been caught in heavy rain at least 3 times in two weeks.

Discussed and looked at BM, as I know many are happy with them, but teaching an old dog new tricks is harder than remembering the old ones .

We have just finished the muffins for breakfast and the banana cake is in the oven. No hassle!

Now to decide which bread recipe to start with.

It's like Christmas! Oh, just looked at the date, it is our wedding anniversary, 34 years :eek: .

Zzzz

Kadeeae

I have been saving for a Kenwwod for ages and am finally getting close to being able to purchase. My MIL suggested that I save just that bit longer and get the "top" model because it will last forever (a bit of overkill maybe, but she's had hers for nearly 25 years) and I may curse not having enough power, but never having too much power

Anyway, just when I was so close to getting the Kenwood Chef Major Titanium (the name!) KM020, I received an email advert yesterday about some sort of "Mega Pack" Just reading through the email it is the KM020 plus the following: Multi Mill, Mincer, Citrus Press, Food Processor and Liquidizer.

This mega pack is £70 more than the "plain" KM020 so now I've got to search around the internet and find out how much these attachments are separately to see if there is a big savings buying the "Mega Pack". I can see myself using 3 of the attachments included quite often, not so sure about the other two . . . . . . .

Pitlanepiglet

Happy Anniversary Catnap :bdaycake: (couldn't find an anniversary smilie but cake seemed appropriate!). I'm telling myself to stop feeling guilty and to enjoy my new toy....haven't christened it yet, had to go shopping to get some more (cheap Asda!) butter. I'm going to make my family's (from Nan and my Mum both no longer with us) sponge cake recipe first as that seems appropriate!

Kadeeae, it's a dilemma isn't it! I've been looking for ages and I've been though all of the options. I wasn't unhappy with the quality of the "cheap" 336 model, it seemed quite robust BUT I wanted the splashguard/pourer and that was extra and I like buying from Costco so it made the decision easier.

Does the Titanium not come with a liquidiser anyway? The Premier has a glass one. The accessory pack looks good, the food processor isn't huge and I'm buying the slicer rather than the FP but I'm sure it would be useful. Happy shopping!

catnap53

I would happily have bought the classic, just saw that the other was a good buy. The Kenwood website says that the flexible beater isn't included, but I got one.

Mine was a spur of the moment decision, but more thoughts today and more research have made me decide that it was best for me.

I personally would not be able to justify the extra for the KM020. I normally get top of the range models for appliances on the basis that they must be better, but am now trying to get only the features and capacity that I need, MSE has helped to reform me!

I have read a post this morning that stated the bowl on the Major is very deep and the spatula didn't reach the bottom, think it was an old post though.

Hope you make the right choice for you Kadeeae, and thanks for the virtual cake Pitlanepiglet.

Must start the bread now.

Zzzz

Pitlanepiglet

Well I'm two cakes into mine so far and it's fab. It's a bit odd though as I haven't used a stand mixer in about 25 years so it's taking a bit of getting used to. I'm finding the big bowl a bit cumbersome and I think I possibly need to adjust the beater to make sure it gets all the bits around the edge. I've also stuck sticky finger prints on the shiny front section which now seem to be stuck on there!

Kadeeae, have you had chance to have a play with the Major? I've also seen the posts about the bowl being difficult to scape with a spatula and, having used the Chef one this afternoon I'm not sure I could pour and manage a bigger bowl. I'm not very big or very strong so I might just be a bit weedy

Kadeeae,

Kadeeae

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Does the Titanium not come with a liquidiser anyway? The Premier has a glass one. The accessory pack looks good, the food processor isn't huge and I'm buying the slicer rather than the FP but I'm sure it would be useful. Happy shopping!

It does, yes - I'm guessing that they are just listing what will come in this "Mega Pack" in total. So that would leave the multi-mill, mincer, citrus press and food processor as the real extras. I know for certain that it's the Titanium I want, but now it's a matter of deciding if these 'extras' will get used enough to justify the £70 added cost, or if I would be better off saving the £70 for some other attachment(s) that would be used more. So difficult :wall: