Happy to spread some love @maisie73. Do you have any more details like where was the Rugby match held (ie in the UK or in Australia?)
I am curious to know what sort of stand mixers fellow Aussies are using. I currently have a large Kenwood Chef that if about 14 years old and is starting to develop some problems. The only people I have come across who have 'Kitchen Aids' in Australia are not great cooks so their rave reviews do not count as any more than being sucked in to advertising. That's not to say they are not wonderful machines. I do a lot of heavy mixing in my machine, including bread making.
So tell me what you have, what you think of it, and what you would love to have and why.
Cheers
Quote:
I am curious to know what sort of stand mixers fellow Aussies are using. I currently have a large Kenwood Chef that if about 14 years old and is starting to develop some problems. The only people I have come across who have 'Kitchen Aids' in Australia are not great cooks so their rave reviews do not count as any more than being sucked in to advertising. That's not to say they are not wonderful machines. I do a lot of heavy mixing in my machine, including bread making.
So tell me what you have, what you think of it, and what you would love to have and why.
Cheers
Hi Cazza. My Kenwood Chef was a dear friend for nearly forty years before it started to leave mixture behind around the side of the bowl. It was a difficult parting when my family gave me a Kitchen Aid for a present a few years ago but I'm very happy with the Kitchen Aid, although I don't make bread and can't comment on that aspect. I would recommend you buy one of the large ones as mine is really too small for my current needs. The top of the range looks amazing for around $1300 RRP (apparently designed for chefs) but the less expensive commercial ones look pretty good too. My cake decorating teacher uses a large Kitchen Aid in his shop and he's very happy with it. I don't know which one it is. Good luck.
AAt the risk of being labelled a "not great cook" by [@]cazza1[/@,]I love my KitchenAid!
It gets a belting pretty much daily, and I've had it for 12 years now. I used them in professional kitchens too, I've always found them reliable and strong.
I've never used a Kenwood so I accept I may be missing out! I don't cook a lot of bread anymore but I didn't have an issue kneading in the KitchenAid.
My only issue is that I would love a bigger capacity, especially when making big cakes or large batches of SMBC,
winniemog if you knew the people I was talking about you would know that I was not having a go at you or most other people. These people would be lucky if they knew how to do any more than turn their mixers on. They have them for 'display' purposes and keeping up with the Jonses. That might sound rude but I would be most surprised if they even knew how to make a cake mix, let alone a scratch cake.
AI'm in the US and I only have access to this thread because of my Australian CC friend. I have a Cuisinart 7 qt mixer that I adore. I make bread and cookies more than I make cakes, so I went into deep research to buy it. It's been about 7 years. Back then and still now, people with KA were having problems. Oil leaking into their batters, gears breaking inside. Some of this is still happening, so do lots of research. The KA only has one year of warranty. My cuisinart came with 5 years. I never had to use the warranty but I was happy it was there.
Kitchen Aid from 40 years ago was indestructible. Then they sold the company. I'm not sure that the plastic gears inside some models have been replaced with metal. Every chef in the US uses KA, but they get replaced for free for the shows if they break, of course. There are more places online for complaints that you should look into. This is the only one I remember. Then again, you might get to be one of the lucky ones whose KA never breaks!
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/homeowners/kitchenaid_mixers.html
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Original message sent by cazza1
winniemog if you knew the people I was talking about you would know that I was not having a go at you or most other people. These people would be lucky if they knew how to do any more than turn their mixers on. They have them for 'display' purposes and keeping up with the Jonses. That might sound rude but I would be most surprised if they even knew how to make a cake mix, let alone a scratch cake.
It's perfectly OK, my comments were made with my tongue firmly placed in my cheek, and I'm sure yours were too!
I too know one of these people - a friend of my husband had their house "done", well $1 million later they have an amazing showpiece....the kitchen cost them $250,000 and has four ovens, the latest everything.....but does she cook? Hell no! They still come to our place because everyone can relax and enjoy themselves and my food is good. I'd rather my slightly rundown, messy but welcoming house anyday!
Oh and they have a "lego room" in their new house - I especially love this because they have three young boys - and are the boys allowed to play in there? No, the lego room is for daddy to indulge his lego fantasies, he buys the lego, makes it once and puts it on display (keeping the pristine box for the future!) Their boys love coming to our house because they're allowed to use their imagination to play with our lego - at home they have to follow the box instructions and not mix sets!
And their massive renovation has filled the block of land they live on, so their three young boys have no outside space to play.
Gosh I sound like I'm a "I'm better than them know it all"! But as much as I'd love a display home in my head, I do prefer a house full of love and warmth. I can't seem to manage both!
Sorry for hijacking this thread......and [@]cazza1[/@], don't stress, I didn't take your comments personally!
Sorry Cazza, like you I have a Kenwood Chef. She is 18 years old now and still going strong. The only thing I know about the Kitchen Aid is that they are much quieter than my Kenwood, golly gosh expensive, and come in so many gorgeous colours - like pink - and that just messes with the cognitive process of choosing with wisdom.
If I ever had to replace the old girl, high on my wish list would be one of the paddle beaters with the silicon edges that scrape the bowl as it turns. Also 2 bowls - a small one for those little batches of royal icing and a large one for the SMBC.
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Original message sent by Magic Mouthfuls
If I ever had to replace the old girl, high on my wish list would be one of the paddle beaters with the silicon edges that scrape the bowl as it turns. Also 2 bowls - a small one for those little batches of royal icing and a large one for the SMBC.
Yes I love my paddles with the bowl scraping edges. And I have 3 bowls for my KitchenAid, it's great when you're doing mousses and need another bowl for egg whites.
And if the KitchenAid is considered quiet, I would hate to hear the Kenwood in action - I love the minute the SMBC is done and I can finally turn off the mixer!
Hi Cazza 1, bought my first KA about 20 years ago and it was a trooper, I still own it and have it at home, but it has been retired from commercial work. I bought another about 15 years ago and it is still in everyday use at the factory. We bought another KA about 3 years ago to replace my original and it is a piece of crap, it has broken down so many times it is ridiculous and is no where near the quality of the original one I bought, not happy with it at all. They were all commercial machines.
We will not be buying another KA.
Strange coincidence but when I went to work today the young lass I am training asked about Kenwood Chefs. She is a beginner, but avid, cook and wants to buy a good mixer from the start. When she was researching she found a website that compared the Kitchen Aids to the Kenwoods and apparently the Kenwoods won. Just barely, so the research continues.
I will get around to that. I have just got a new computer and have shifted from windows to mac so am still sorting out how things work. Most things are pretty much the same but some are different. It is a very sleek, beautiful looking machine, though, with everything built into the screen and if I want to use it in another room all I have to do is pick it up and take it with me.
AThis is my wonderful new clock. [IMG]http://www.cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3307555/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
I understand totally, Magic Mouthfuls. The minute I saw it I had to have it and the only red one they had was faulty. Drove me mad cos it took a month as they tried to replace the mechanism and then gave up and got a whole new clock. It does come in other colours, too.
OH my Cazza, Love Love Love the clock. Do they come in pink?
Well out Annual Branch Christmas display is over for the year, the tickets sold exceptionally well for my cake , so I am a bit pleased with myself. I am exhausted of course , heading over to the shopping centre and answering questions on all things cake everyday. The lady who won my cake was thrilled to bits and couldn't wait until Christmas with her grandkids and surprising them with the cake on Christmas day.
I am looking for a new mixer too, so am following the research eagerly.
Here is a pic of my cake I did for the raffle.
Your cake is gorgeous Chelle and it must be really satisfying to have sold a lot of tickets after all the effort you put in.
I am giving up on the mixer research for the moment. I think I will probably get another large Kenwood Chef. I think they call them the 'Professional' model now a days.
I have just spent all night looking at accommodation for the conference. I will probably book a 1 bedroom apartment within walking distance of the casino. It's a fair bit cheaper for me that way, especially as I have to add on flights and won't get paid for the 2 weeks I am not at work. Need to book the flights first, though, and decide if I am visiting family before or after. So many decisions. It's giving me a headache.
Hi Aussie ladies,
I was in Big W today and to my shock they are now stocking Wilton cake products - colour gels are $5.50 and featherweight piping bags are $13.95 (ouch). So, prices no different than the specialist industry suppliers around Australia, but sure saves on delivery.
Even tho Big W is nice and close, I dont really like the fact that wannabe DIY cake makers can now think they can readily buy our tools of trade and then DO IT THEMSELVES. No!!!! Can't we have some secrets???
Yes I agree, many of their products are average or downright awful. I do love their light-weight piping bags tho, as I am not a strong person and squeezing out 50 cupcake swirls for example gets very tiring.
At least the punters get to see how jolly expensive tools can be.
I am not a fan of wilton either, Spotlight has gone over to their products in a big way. I do demos at spotlight occasionly, and the store manager was asking me about the products, I told her they were the McDonalds of the cake supply world. Just because they are everywhere doesn't make them good.
Magic Mouthfuls, I have some lovely silicone piping bags that I got at the Tasmanian National Conference a couple of years ago, I love them. But I don't really do cupcakes I guess, just royal icing . I hate doing cupcakes , so I charge the earth for them, it encourages people to order a tiered cake or large single cake instead. I will admit that it sometimes bites me in the bottom and I have to do the cupcakes , but at least I am paid well for them.
Cazza, we booked Jupiters already, I have wanted to stay there ever since it opened when I was fifteen. I will be almost 45 by the time of the conference. With my illness , I also need a room that I can go for my afternoon sleep and just ducking upstairs means I don't miss too much.
When I went to the Tassie National , I visited the rellys afterwards. That way I was fresh for the conference.
I also think, Chelle, that I will be exhausted after the conference, so if I go to the rellys then I can just collapse for a week. Otherwise it will be a mad dash home and then back to work and I will lose the glow that you have after visiting a big event like that.
Magic mouthfuls I must confess that I loathe cleaning piping bags and bought a stack of cheap ones from China. Tonight I only needed a teaspoon or so of icing to stick my sleigh together but because the bags were so cheap I just cut one down to tiny and then threw it out. I, like you, find lightweight bags so much easier on my hand and arm muscles.
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