I’ve written before about my love of the Kenwood mixer. I know there is some affection out there for the American candy-coloured Kitchen Aid, but I feel proudly and resolutely British in my love for the Kenwood. I learnt to cook with one as a child, and watched my mother bake her way through Delia’s Book of Cakes using it. They really do things so perfectly: lump-free mashed potatoes using the patent ‘K’ beater, bread dough, light as air egg whites, whipped cream, perfect Victoria sponges… my list of things that this workhorse can do could just go on and on and on…
So imagine my glee when I hopped off to the Kenwood launch of their new mixer last week (the 70s inspired but with 21st tech) Chef Classic. Especially when I saw that there in the corner were three vintage machines, summing up the evolution of Kenwood. (Above is one from the 1950s.)
I just had to run the pictures here, as I remember so many comments last time from lovely LLG readers who also learnt to cook with a Kenwood, and who remembered both their mothers’ and their grandmothers’ Kenwoods. So here for you, is a Kenwood blast from the past! Which one do you remember?
This one dates from the early 1960s.
This one is from the last 60s — apart from the fact that it was white with a navy blue trim, this is the one that looks most like the one my mother had in the 1970s, and which she kept for thirty years. (That is the glory of the Kenwood — they never die!)
All that vintage glory leads up the the 21st century gleaming-ness of this:
The one on the left is the one my mama upgraded to, and it’s excellent. The one on the right also heats as it mixes. I also never realised until last week that all attachments for the Kenwood are always manufactured to be interchangeable between models. In a world with so much built-in obsolescence, I find that enormously cheering.
The new Kenwood Chef Classic is an entry level machine with pretty retro styling, comes in white with jazzy orange, green or blue trim and is priced around £275.
I have no commercial affiliation whatsoever with Kenwood. I just think they are excellent products, and I like the fact they are a British company.
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
My Mum must’ve had the same as your Mum’s. It was White and Navy, and she was still using it up until recently… but all the way over the other side of the world in Australia. Definitely a work horse in the kitchen, and it would have dated to around the late 60′s or early 70′s as well. I have many fond memories of licking the K beater in the kitchen after she had finished making meringue or a cake batter.
we used to have the China in the top pic! still do I would think! love Kenwood too
Love those old models! I grew up baking fairy cakes and friend’s birthday cakes on my mum’s Kenwood, and she only recently upgraded to a new one. I always thought the K beater was especially for me!
I’d buy the yellow and black one today. Such a jazzy design! LLG, given the size of the mixer, do you think it’s worth investing in one? Most of us have small kitchens and I can usually get by with a handblender and a beater.
@Sara: I guess it really depends on how much you bake and cook. They can’t be beat for bread dough, for mash and for super light cake batters, but of course there are other options for these too, and I would never encourage anyone to spend lots of money when they are already suitably provisioned.
I have to say that the new Chef – which I stupidly don’t seem to have a photo of, is pretty compact, and seems perfectly suited for a London kitchen. They are an investment – but as you can tell from the comments, one that will last for your lifetime – and your descendent’s too! LLGxx
@LLG: Thanks LLG, I shall look out for it, if only to go and stroke it lovingly in the shop.
Oh my that orange one is the one I learnt to cook with! I really wish my mum hadn’t chuck it when my parents divorced and sold the house
I’ve never had a Kenwood but I remember those strangely sticky pink wafers!
My granny had one like the 2nd one, and my mum has had two. It probably sounds weird but to me owning a kenwood chef is a real sign of being a grownup – so I don’t own one yet.
@Nailish Ramblings: I don’t have one yet either! I know exactly what you mean…it’s a big step! LLGxx
Love this post. Got a K Mix for Christmas and adore it. I have the same 70s memories as you…..blissful bowl licking
My Mum still has the one from the early 60s. Although it doesn’t see the regular use it once did, Mum – now nearly 85 – still whizzes up a super-light Victoria sandwich in it. My kids (20 and 17) say that no-one can bake a cake quite like Nanny!
@Janet:
Mum gifted me her Kenwood Chef when she found it was getting too heavy for her to move. So there’s one from the early 1960s still in use here in Australia. I’ve had it serviced once and it’s still going strong…..
I love Kenwood products, to date my kitchen contains their kettle, blender, hand mixer, food processor…The big mixer would be the ultimate product to complete my collection. I think my husband is a little weirded out by how much I lust after Kenwood kitchen appliances but I agree with you that they are just excellent products and so very perfect in a british kitchen…
I have the exact same 1960′s one picked up from a second hand shop/barn in the Lincolnshire Wolds about 10 years ago….. I have never used the potato peeler attachment, but it’s perfect for cake baking and smoothie making and is still going strong!
You would have to pry mine out of my cold dead hands! I especially like the Pasta maker attachment! My next purchase will be the Ice Cream attachment!
@CB: Just let me know when you need a taste tester! LLGxx
@LLG: You will be the first I call! Z and I owe you dinner – although I will have to wait until the blasted Fridge is fixed!
I loved reading this: my mum donated her old Kenwood Chef to me a year or so ago and it’s still going… she was bought it in 1983! Again it’s the one above that’s orange, but in white and navy. It’s a workhorse indeed!!
I have my Grannies 701a (the second one down), love it to bits. The only part that’s been replaced is the liquidiser seal – and Kenwood sent that free of charge.
Hi.Found you through FF. Imagine my delight when the first post I see is celebrating the Kenwood. My mother had the one in your first pic. Mine is 1979 model in a classic white with black trim and it’s still going strong. I have a feeling I am going to enjoy your blog.
@wendy: Hey Wendy! I’m so glad you found your way over here! LLG content is nothing if not…varied, and I do hope you continue to like what you find here. LLGxx
My mum had the 1960′s one, I would recognise it a mile off! She replaced it last year and only because the arm would no longer stay down unless you held it. Just like you, and by the sounds of it many of your readers, I have such vivid childhood memories of this in the kitchen. I grew up in NZ and so the Kenwood was put to lovingly good use making magical cakes from the now classic Australian Women’s Weekly Children’s Birthday Cake Book. X
My mum still has and uses her Kenwood mixer. It’s the same model as the orange one but is cream/white. It still works perfectly. I’m quite jealous as I have a Kitchen Aid which whilst it looks superior doesn’t work half as well.
I have my mothers one which is still going strong and must be 40 years old or more now, it is white and looks like the orange model you show. I’d love a Kitchen Aid mixer but will use my Kenwood till it dies.