The Kenwood Chef is a food mixer developed by Ken Wood in Britain. It is a single machine with a number of attachments that allow it to perform many functions. The Chef, based on the earlier A200, was introduced in 1950. Kenwood mixers, along with most other Kenwood products were originally manufactured in the UK by Kenwood Limited (not to be confused with the Japanese Kenwood Corporation which manufactures audio equipment). The Chef Mixer was an instant success in the UK and is still Kenwood's top seller today.
Overview
Kenneth Maynard Wood, with his friend Roger Laurence, began trading as Woodlau Industries Ltd in 1947. His aim was to produce luxury items that would quickly be seen as necessities. He began marketing a toaster (Model A100) and a food mixer with two beaters (Model A200). The original mixer marketed as "The Kenwood Electric Food Mixer", designed in 1947 was very similar (possibly too similar) to the Sunbeam Mixmaster Model 3, an American mixer made between 1936 and 1939, and he faced serious competition and possibly objection. He completely redesigned the mixer, which was then launched at the Ideal Home Exhibition in London in March 1950. This mixer was no longer just a mixer, as he had added several other functions, and so he called it the Kenwood Electric Chef. It sold for £19 10s. 10d. (£19.54).[1][2]
Since it was first introduced, the basic Kenwood Chef design has changed little with most changes being cosmetic. The A700 was the first model launched on the market in 1950 at the Ideal Home Show, then superseded by the A700D with minor cosmetic differences and internal updates. In 1960 the Chef was redesigned by Kenneth Grange as the familiarly shaped A701 series. It was introduced in white or cream with grey trim, which was superseded in 1963 by white and duck egg blue, and then in 1969 by white and dark blue. Other standard and special versions of the A701 had different colours, mostly orange and brown, or light blue and dark blue..[2]
Compatibility
The auxiliary outlets are standard for all A700 machines, and were then updated for the A901. Some attachments for the A701 look very similar to those for the A901 but have a different fitting: they are not compatible and cannot be adapted. Older attachments for the A701 that may be found second-hand say on the box that they are for "All Chef and Major Models", true at the time but no longer so.[2]
There are three designs of shaft fitting into the orbital hub [7][2]
Early A706 Major models had another fitting, whereby the tool slid into a groove on the socket on the planet hub, after which a metal sleeve would drop down over the socket ensuring the beater stayed in place.[2]
A further complication is that, due to its extra height, any accessory fitted to the orbital hub of the Major must be longer than its Chef counterpart, so Major and Chef attachments for this hub are incompatible. This includes beaters, which need to reach to the bottom of the bowl, potato peeler,
Attachments
Many attachments (e.g. coffee grinder, slicer and shredder, cream maker, grain mill, liquidiser, tin opener, potato peeler etc.) are available.[2]
All models in the A700 and A900 series were supplied with the "K-Beater" (for standard mixing, beating, and folding), dough hook, and whisk as standard. Some models (particularly the "Super Chef" and "Chef Deluxe") included the liquidiser attachment (which in some models was made of glass and in others plastic). A much-needed splash-guard cover for the bowl was introduced for the Chef in the early 1980s; before this, there was a tendency for ingredients such as flour to be thrown from the open-top bowl, especially if too high a speed was used before they were mixed in.[2]
The contemporary Kenwood Cooking Chef includes all the following attachments in its purchase price as standard: K-Beater, power whisk, spiral dough hook, stirring tool, flexi beater, food processor, steamer basket, and blender.
Other brands
The kitchen machine remains very popular across the UK and Europe, and is slowly working into the US market where the KitchenAid, which is a similar kitchen tool, has a greater market share.
In North America, the DeLonghi DSM5 and DSM7, and the Kenmore Elite Kitchen Machine (re-badged DSM5), are the same appliance as the Kenwood Chef and accessories are interchangeable between them. There is also a Hamilton Beach badged variant based around the KM800 Major.
External links
- Kenwood
- Kenwood Chef Restore - list of models