A tale of two food mixers

I have recently come of age as I am now the proud owner of a Kenwood Chef food mixer. I grew up in a household that generally prepared food from scratch and where cakes were baked on a regular basis. My mother's trusty Kenwood Chef was central to all this and, more than 40 years on, it's still working a treat. Not for me a shiny, brightly coloured KitchenAid. I'm a Kenwood girl through and through.

It's interesting comparing the two. It's still pretty much the same solid design, but with some useful updates. The 1960s model has a pyrex bowl; my 'Premier' model has a stainless steel bowl and contemporary silver colour. Mine also has a rather clever flexible beater that fits the bowl perfectly and saves you from continually having to scrape around the bowl with a spatular.

Another recent addition is the transparent splashguard that clips over the bowl. This is marvellous! It means that you can whizz together your cake mixes or butter icing, without a great cloud of flour or icing sugar settling all over your kitchen. My Mum is really envious of this feature and hopes that one will be suitable for her mixer. My Kenwood Chef sits proudly on the counter, working hard and already a focal point of my kitchen.

And here she is, my mother Judy, enjoying her new role as grandmother, still in remarkably good shape – I hope the same can be said about me (and my Kenwood Chef) in years to come.