One thing I love to do more than anything in the world is cook. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns that followed, I've found it difficult to concentrate on anything else, whether it be a book, a television show - or my eight-hour work day.
As one of the only hobbies that allow me to clear my mind while being productive, cooking has been a constant throughout these two years of pandemic panic. So when the opportunity arose to review the brand spanking new, ultra-fancy Kenwood food processor, I jumped at it.
With 16 attachments, promising to chop, slice, dice, grate, knead and more, I was so excited to whip up some amazing food with ease - until I unpacked it and was immediately overwhelmed.
I've been using the Kenwood multipro Express+ for about a week, so here are my thoughts.
The good
There is no denying it is great to have a machine in your kitchen that combines 16 appliances into one.
According to Kenwood's website, the food processor promises to "chop, grate, slice, blend, knead, whisk and even juice".
"Do it all with just one base, saving you time and space," the website reads.
The food processor highlights its "hassle-free, splash-free" appeal that will allow home-cooks (like yours truly) to expand on their cooking needs.
I started off simple, using the blender attachment, which is just like your normal run-of-the-mill blender. It seemed like the perfect way to ease into things.
However, a smoothie made of frozen berries and milk seemed to be beyond the blender attachment's capability. It didn't blend properly and I had to pour the lumpy mixture into my Nutribullet to finish it off.
After that, I decided to tackle dicing and grating carrots, something I was going to need instructions for. The instructions are written as well as they possibly could be, considering the multitude of attachments you are working with.
It took a few tries, but I was able to successfully dice and grate carrots while using the correct attachments. If you disregard the time spent finding, setting up and replacing the different attachments, carrots can be diced and grated within seconds.
If you needed to dice a bunch of potatoes for chips, or a large amount of vegetables for a big roast dinner, I believe this machine would save you a lot of time.
Considering all of the things it can do, the food processor is retailed at a reasonable price point of $449. When you think about buying these appliances separately - a juicer, mixer, electric whisk, smoothie maker - the cost adds up quickly.
The bad
As I said before, I'm someone who looks for peace in cooking. And this Kenwood food processor provided me with anything but.
First of all, my simple smoothie couldn't even be blended - that was the first disappointment.
Given I was a first-timer with a machine like this, it did take quite a while to understand which attachments go where, especially since one attachment doesn't equal one function.
For example, to dice a carrot, there are four different attachments you have to pile on top of each other while making sure everything fits correctly.
The food processor promises to be both hassle and mess free, but that certainly was not my experience.
When grating carrots, I attached a tube to the machine, which promises to deliver perfectly grated vegetables right to your plate. Although a lot of carrots landed in the bowl placed under the tube - a lot of it also landed all over my kitchen.
When I think about cooking your average meal, I would need to dice, slice, mix and maybe blend a sauce. That process involves at least four attachments, meaning you could end up with more dishes than if you were to use a simple knife and chopping board.
The verdict
For someone who looks for peace in cooking to cope with work and the general world around us, the Kenwood was too much for me. Yes, the attachments (bar the blender) are very powerful and it is incredible that you can do so many things with one machine - but it's certainly not the hassle-free appliance it promises to be.
Although it is marketed at home-cooks, I think it is too complicated for someone who needs to grate two carrots and chop a few potatoes. It would be perfect for producing diced potatoes on mass, but even then could create more dishes than needed.
However, considering the amount of things the Kenwood MultiPro Express Weigh+ can do, it definitely is bang for your buck.
Newshub was supplied a Kenwood MultiPro Express Weigh+ for this review.
