Kenwood Chef Titanium Kitchen Machine, Stainless Steel - 7 qt - Kitchen Mixer - 800W Motor & Electronic Variable Speed Control - Includes Dishwasher-Safe Work Bowl & Three Mixing Tools

I moved to the US and had to sell my mixer when I relocated. I had this mixer for 10 years or so back home. It’s the BEST mixer! It’s professional enough and can hold on to dough, cookies, big amount of dough and the engine is strong enough without any issue. This is a newer model than what I had but it’s SO good. It’s not very quiet but it’s as a kitchen aid level of noise. It’s not cheap but considering my my last one held on for ~10 years, $500 is not too bad. Keep in mind it is on the bigger size so make sure you have room on the counter

We bought our first Kenwood 7 QT Chef mixer about 35 years ago. We have used it continuously for those 35 years. We have mixed bread dough, cookie dough, cakes, mashed potatoes, whipped cream, meringue and much more. It was a real trooper. It sits solidly on the counter, doesn't vibrate, doesn't whine, processes reliably at whatever speed we dial in. It has shown no wear and tear, nothing loose, no discoloration, no fading, no gunk build-up. Recently, after 35 years of hard work, it began hesitating when I turned it on. Sometimes I had to turn the dial on and off several times before it would spring to life. This occurred shortly before it was time to make our Christmas cookies. So I was worried about whether it would work for this important task. I mentioned to my wife that it looked like our old mixer was reaching the end of its useful life. She said we should think about whether we wanted to get a Kitchen Aid. I said, "Absolutely not! I want that mixer again." I went onto the internet, and the only place I could find it was on Amazon. So I ordered it, and it arrived in time for Christmas cookie making.After 35 years, not much has changed. The front of the top arm is rounded, not square, the lock for raising and lowering the top arm is now a lever instead of a button, the bowl has two handles, and the three paddle attachments are now stainless steel. That last one was a decided improvement, because the paddles can now be washed in the dishwasher. When we put the old ones in the dishwasher the metal surfaces turned black, and the black rubbed off on your hands. The handles on the bowl are mildly convenient, but our old bowl still works fine on the new machine. So we now have a spare bowl. Even the price has not changed much. Thirty-five years ago we bought our first Kenwood for $440; last month we bought our second for $520. Based on the usage we got out of the old one, we paid about $1 per month. I pay more that that for using the cloud, and I cannot even explain what the cloud is.We are 71 years old, so the new machine will outlive us. The old one might have if I knew a repair shop I trust, as it might just have been a loose wire on the control dial. Nothing else on the old machine was amiss.If you want a serious mixer that can handle any task in your kitchen, is sturdy and can take any punishment you have to offer, this is the machine for you.

Attachments drop dark powder

Update september 2017: I've bought more accessories, like the citrus press, the juicer, the food processor and a 2nd bowl (a white one) and I'm still happy with the kitchen machine. I use it more or less every day to make juice or smoothies.Update june 2016: I made bread with even more flour and I never had the problem with the smell again, so 5 stars.I also bought the blender and use it every day to make smoothies. Low noise and really smooth/creamy result.I bought this machine because I'm making once or twice a week some bread (with about 2 lb of flour) and I'm cooking/baking a lot. I read a lot about kitchen machines having some problems to knead dough with 2 lb or more flour, so for this machine with a power of 800 W (twice of what other brands have) I expected this should not be an issue. The possibility to extend the functionality with additional attachments (there's a nice attachment collection) was also a criteria. Because I'm cooking/baking a lot and my kitchen is big enough, the weight wasn't an issue (I would always have the machine on my countertop).Until yet I made- 1 bread with 0.5 lb flour and 1 cup of water and- 1 bread with 2 lb flour, 2.5 cups of milk and 5.6 ounces of butterboth with the dough hook. Also I mixed egg yolk with sugar with the K-beater.Surprisingly, the machine is very quiet, I expected it to make more noise. Changing the tools goes fast and is very easy.The machine had no problem with the dough for the first bread. It purred like a kitten and made a good job.As for the dough for the second bread, after about 10 minutes kneading the dough I had the impression that the motor smelled a little bit 'burned'. The machine shouldn't be in an overload condition with these quantities and there were no other signs of overload (like making more noise, whole machine rolling...). I stopped the machine and kneaded the dough by hand (I'm living in Costa Rica and I didn't want to take the risk of damaging the machine without having a repair centre nearby). For this experience I took away 1 star.Mixing the egg yolk with sugar with the K-beater was no problem (next time I will try it with the whisk), As I made the parfait, I became aware that it would be nice to have a second bowl (mixing egg yolk with sugar, whisking egg white, whisking cream). Actually I have no additionally attachments, but I think I will buy a second bowl (and other attachments if I still will be satisfied with the machine).