The is a review for the Kenwood FPM910 MultiPro Excel 1300W (as Amazon has an annoying habit of mixing up similar but different models).

This was bought to replace the Kenwood MultiOne which failed 3 times.

The MultiPro Excel is a big beast, being of a square-designed base unit, to which you attach the various modules.

There is one big difference to get used to if you are coming from a ‘Chef’ or the MultiOne unit, both of which had a bowl with Whisk, Mixer and Dough hook attachments. All these jobs are now done in the food processing bowl through the use of the blade or various attachments.

Pastry: Essential to use the metal blade and add the flour and fat first and pulse or gradually mix until you get the breadcrumbs. Then add a little water gradually, while pulsing or controlling the speed for a few seconds until it forms the dough — then stop. It only takes a few seconds — any longer will result in the thick dough ball being pummelled around the container and creating a lot of vibration and shaking which won’t do the unit any good.

Whisking Egg Whites: This is where a lot people go wrong. The Whisk is only to be used for eqq whites and making meringue — nothing else and certainly not batter mix — it is too heavy for the whisk mechanism to cope with! Whisk the egg whites (5-6) on their own for about 30-40 seconds — that’s all it takes. Then you can add the caster sugar to stiffen them if required, by gradually adding the sugar from the opening in the top. This only takes another 30 seconds or so. Essential to make sure the plastic container is dry and clean before use.

Folding Tool: Use this for making mousses and for adding air into light mixtures.

Dough Blade: I have not used this as yet, preferring to use the metal blade for pastry making. The dough blade is plastic and is for some types of dough.

Slicing & Grating: There are 7 cutting discs supplied with this model — but others are available like a French Fry disc for chopping potatoes and making your own French fries (note fries, not chips)!

7 Discs supplied:
Thin cutting disc (2mm)
Thick cutting disc (4mm)
Thin grating disc (2mm)
Thick grating disc (4mm)
Extra fine grater disc
Fine Julienne disc
Decorative slicing disc
Optional: French Fry Disc

Citrus Press: I use this a lot for juicing lemons and oranges — great for making Lemon Meringue pies.

Grinder / Miller: Really useful — make your own caster or icing sugar from standard granulated in seconds — considering they charge 2-3 times the price for buying it ready made in the shops, this is a no-brainer. This unit just plugs onto the main module — lock and load. Great for crushing nuts and harder foods that you want to chop or granulise.

Liquidiser / Blender — Heat and Cold resistant glass — great for making smoothies in seconds, blending soups and liquidising hot or cold liquids — again the unit just clicks onto the main base unit.

The unit comes with a large plastic case for storing all the discs in safely and also space for the metal blade when not using it. There is also a mini-bowl and mini chopper blade if you are preparing smaller quantities of ingredients — I’ve not found I need to use this as yet.

Scales: One great feature is the built-in scales that you can easily switch between ounces or grams. Being able to zero-out the weight as you add each ingredient is a real bonus and saves using multiple bowls and separate scales.

The system also comes with an internal overflow cover, that you can insert into the main food processor bowl. This increases the capacity when working with liquids, as it stops the liquid from being pushed up and out of the lid under the centrifugal force.

Overall we are really pleased with the performance — it is quite a versatile unit, and we make good use of this every week. It is easy to clean and store. A useful feature is the cable storage — you may not realise it at the time, but the cable can be pushed back into the hole where the cable extrudes. It takes a little effort, but it can store the whole cable, just leaving the plug protruding, so really saves space. The unit is stainless steel with a square footprint and looks great in the kitchen.

Storage is perfect — and if you have limited space between your cupboards over your work surface, then simply remove the main spindle and processing bowl, and attach the miller instead if height is an issue.

So far it is doing everything it says on the box and I have no complaints about it. Spares are readily available including attachments, drive belts, motors, spindles and accessories from major spares retailers.