Kenwood Chef Major Titanium KM020 Kitchen Machine, Titanium

I've had a Kenwood Chef for about 20 years that's given me great service even though I push it to the limits of the recommended maximum volume of dough and time spent mixing. It's still working but I decided to treat myself to this very powerful Kenwood Major KM020 that won't be taxed by over 2kg of brioche dough using the Roux brother's recipe that takes nearly an hour of mixing to incorporate all the butter. I also use a collander attachment to process large volumes of fruit and vegetable purees or separate out the fibres when making batches of a smooth fish soup and now won't have to empty the bowl so often as I go along.

I felt like a kid at Christmas when the huge box was delivered full of all sorts of attachments. The KM020 machine looks impressive on the work-top and you do need to keep it on the work-top as it's very heavy. It has a large capacity bowl but I can see that it's well-designed as it's tall rather than wide and tapering to be narrower at the base so you can mix quite small quantities at the bottom of the bowl.

The machine has three different points for fixing the large range of attachments available from Kenwood: slow for, for example, mincing; medium speed for the food processor and fast for the liquidizer and small spice/nut mill (which I also use to make salad dressing). To my surprise the food processor attachment is included and it's a good size with a sharp blade and three slicing/shredding discs.

Some points from my early use of the machine: if you've had a Kenwood mixer before and have attachments I find that most of them work with the new machine, for example: the mincer; the continuous-flow juicer; the spice mill and even the liquidizer. The KM020 liquidizer does have a more secure way of attaching which I couldn't work out at first: not only do to have to pull the handle towards you but also press down (that's what took me some time to work out) and then part of the liquidizer base springs upwards and grips the attachment in place. The collander ensemble from a Chef mixer doesn't fit.

I'm impressed with the quietness of the machine and I like the planetary motion of the whisks, etc., that pulls the ingredients into the mixture very effectively. A novelty for me is that, in addition to the familiar rigid K-beater, there's a flexible K-beater included that slides over the surface of the bowl and means that you don't have to keep scraping down the sides of the bowl when, say, you're creaming sugar and butter together.

Altogether a wonderful machine that cries out to be used and will be.

UPDATE May 2010: I've just discovered something that may help others. Sometimes the very large bowl on this machine is so capacious that smaller quantities, such as a batch of franzipani for one tart or making meringue with only 3 or 4 egg whites doesn't mix too well. I had a Kenwood Chef before (great machine but a little small for large batches of bread dough) and kept the stainless steel bowl and what I've found is that if you remove the rubber mat under the Major's bowl and slot in the smaller Chef bowl the tools of the Major work fine and small amounts of mixture combine more efficiently.

This splendid item replaces our 10 year KM250 Major. There was nothing really wrong with it just showing its age.

This new unit at 1500W is over twice as powerful as our 650W original.
It now comes with a Food Processor as well as a Glass Liquidiser Attachment. All the bowl attachments are at long last in shiny stainless steel and the bowl now has handles and a splash guard as standard. Our existing attachments still fit which is also a bonus.

The unit is a quality item with a very quiet motor. Comes with a nice marketing DVD showing the history of the mixer and demonstrating all the attachments. As well as a comprehensive recipe book it comes with a second CD with all the recipes available in electronic format. You can search and print to save ruining the printed manual.

I have discovered that the Glass Liquidiser attachment fits perfectly in one 8L Really Usefull Storage Container and the Dough hook, Flexible K-Beater and balloon whisk in another. (I keep the stainless steel K-Beater on the machine)

As far as table top mixers go, for design and performance, you can not beat the Kenwood Major the daddy of them all.

I confess that I've wanted a "Chef" since I was a teenager (I'm now 54), but could never bring myself to justify the cost. However, in these mad days of later life, I came to the conclusion that I would have to buy one NOW or never have one. Having decided that, it was a small step to deciding to buy the best available. Wow! I am so glad I did. This machine is a marvel. It's soooooo efficient! It's smooth, sophisticated and versatile. I have now "chucked" my old breadmaker, food processor, separate blender and food mixer, because the Kenwood Chef replaces them all and more besides. I've added a couple of extra attachments - the potato peeler and the mini mill but I've still got more room in my cupboards than I had before.
By the way - Amazon, you're fantastic. I have to say I think you're my favourite place to shop.