I had a kenwood mixer for about 2 years, albeit the cheaper patissier model. I was never really happy with it and often resorted to my hand mixer. But I was almost relieved when it finally died and I could buy this mixer. What a difference, which is surprising considering it has less wattage. A chef I met a couple of years told me not to judge by watts, it actually is quite misleading as it doesn't mean neccessarily it is a better machine. According to the strip at the top, I've had this mixer for nine months and it gets used at least 2-3 a week. I use the beater and whisk attachment the most as I think dough hooks geneally don't knead dough as well as you can by hand as they don't incorporate enough air. That said I have used it on occasion and have not had any problems. Any mixer will leave mix around the sides of a bowl, and any good cookbook/recipe will remind you to "scrape down the sides" when mixing so I reject this as the fault of this mixer. I have never had so many compliments on my baking since using this machine. It is heavy and getting in and out of a cupboard requires formidable strength so I recommend keeping it on the counter. Not everyone will love this machine, understandably, but I swear by it and my creations speak for themselves.
