Mrs bigsurfer would like a stand mixer for Christmas, she is a cake baker so it will be used for mixing cake and all the icing and other ingredients that go along with cake decorating. We don’t need it to blend or be a food processor. Are the kitchen aid ones worth the money. I can see it getting used most weeks so don’t want something that will break.

Our Kitchen Aid gets used most weeks I’d say, and has done for the last 8 years or so without missing a beat.

However, whether it is actually better value for money than some of the other mixers is debatable… but they do look nice, especially the sparkly red ones!

Kenwood survives heavy duty cake baking at weekends from MrsMC and the LittleMCs. Blender attachment lives in the cupboard.

I’ve always had kenwood ones, my parents had one as a wedding present that lasted 20+ years untill they binned it for having a slightly worn bushing before looking at the replacement cost, they still bought a new one though. unfortunately i bought the cheaper version and it shakes / flexes horribly, still upto 3 years regular use without fault it just crashes about a bit.

You dont have to use the blender but it is handy if you leave the mixer out all the time, ditto the coffe grinder etc.

Are the kitchen aid ones worth the money

They’re a big lump of crude engineering, probably last till the next millennium
My Mrs bought one a few years ago – purely because it was fashionable – but it’s proved itself to be one of her better buys.
It just does what it does, at least 3 or 4 times a week

Kenwoods look more raw but you get more for your money. Kitchenaids are trendier. Either should last a lifetime.

We have just bought a Kenwood KMix kmx80 from Sainsburys. They are stopping selling them and are selling them for £179.99. Can even use your double up nectar points to buy it (max £40 voucher). The Milton Keynes store had a few left but we got the last 80.

Mrs T uses a Kitchen Aid every day at work for making cakes, so they can take some punishment. She thinks it’s 40+ years old too. Had new bushes in motor but that’s about it.

after about 3 years of putting it off I finally bought mrs djambo one (a kitchenaid)earlier this year.

it turned out to be a great buy. we tend to use it most for making bread every weekend. makes it very quick and easy and the results are superb!

We got our daughter a kenwood kmix last christmas. Up to now its been great. There was an offer on at the time with a free toaster and kettle (limited colours) from amazon. It’s grat for mash spuds as well as cakes.

Kenwood Chef – although I suspect the newer ones may not last as long as my old one, 47 years old and just about to be used to make my Christmas cake today 🙂

My mum has a Kenwood Chef that is over 30 years old and still works fine.
I think either will last a lifetime.

Got my Mrs a Kenwood Kmix for her birthday. Totally selfless, of course, as I don’t benefit! Oh, wait…. 😉

I read some reviews, beware, baking sites have mostly women on there getting as excited as we do about a new wheel size. Kitchen Aid is solid and trendy. Kmix has a soft start and fold in function that she preferred.

Overall awesome bit of kit – chuck ingredients in and let it do its stuff. I didn’t get them before but it’s a great labour saving kitchen tool and everyone loves cake!

Kenwood Chef. Mums went for 40 years, don’t know who got it when she died. My wife & I compared Kenwoods & Kitchen Aids 6 years ago, both have good longevity, but the Kenwood gives you more for your money. Also has a 1000w motor.

Bought my wife a kmix for her birthday, reviews suggest it’s got the edge on the trendy kitchen aid. It’s really impressive as far as white goods go. That sainsburys price is superb!

I have a friend who I asked about this – she’s a professional ?cake maker and she has both – she would choose the Kenwood chef over the kitchen aid any time. One thing she said was that the kitchen aid isn’t as good at scraping the bowl as the Kenwood plus a few other bits and bobs which are better. She didn’t say the kitchen aid was rubbish so if looks are very important it would still be ok but the Kenwood beats it in most things. I think it was the Chef she was taking about – she also has a professional Kenwood one I thnk which was eye wateringly expensive.

I’d go Kenwood Chef every time. Mine is 20 years old, my sister’s a bit older and my mum’s Kenwood is well over 40 years old. None of us has ever had to replace anything, and we all use them at least once or twice a week (more in my case if I’m trialling cakes for work). Always mixes well, no bits left unmixed around the sides or bottom of the bowl ( unlike the £6k industrial mixer I use at work!) great for kneading bread too if you’re too idle to do it by hand!
Not the prettiest mixer in the world, but as I like work surfaces clear from clutter, mine lives in the cupboard!

I replaced a cheapo thing with a Kenwood Chef.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenwood-KM336-Classic-Stand-Liquidiser/dp/B000Q7ZCFK

It’s not put a foot wrong so far. I’d rather have had a Kitchenaid, but for the price of the thing I could’ve got a Kenwood and another one as a spare and still had change. Bugger that.