KenwoodMini Chopper, 0.35 Litre Dishwasher Safe Bowl, 2 Speeds, Rubber Feet for Food Chopper Stability, 300 W, CH180B, Assorted

After my last mini chopper disintegrated spectacularly whilst slicing through some chunks of cooked lamb, I have been nervous about purchasing a new one. I had wanted to wait until I could afford a new, super expensive model, but after months of chopping onions I gave in and decided to buy this little guy.To think, all those months of onion tears could have been avoided sooner! This chopper so far has been excellent. First off, its blades are really quite sharp. When washing the blades for the first time, they sliced right through my sponge, so do be careful. Cooked leg of lamb was the first meat to be tested out, and it sliced through it no problem. Finally a good shepherd pie again. Vegetables have been no problem, and decent sized chunks can be used without the machine struggling.Now the mini chopper itself is a really good size. I have a small kitchen, and counter space is an issue, but this slotted in just nicely. It feet are sturdy whilst in use, and importantly I feel confident using it.Now whilst I do love it, there are some issues. I dislike how there is only one button for both speeds, it makes it easy to over purée an onion for example, but I believe getting more used to it may help in that regard. Another issue is that when doing a lot of chopping, getting the bowl off can sometimes be a bit difficult. Especially if you're hands are a little wet as the edge of the bowl can get stuck on the lip a little until you maneuver it a bit more. Practice makes perfect I suppose.Overall, its an amazing little chopper, able to do nearly all the quick chopping you need whilst cooking. Easy to use, and simple to clean and a great price.

I had previously owned a variety of food processors before I purchased the Kenwood Mini Chopper, but one thing that they all had in common was that I very rarely used them! This was because I have a good set of knifes, I am quite proficient with them, and they were easier to clean afterwards; another reason was that all the processors were quite bulky and I'm a bit of 'fuss pot' when it comes to having clutter-free worktops, so more often than not they were stored at the back of a cupboard and by the time I'd got them out and set them up I could have probably done all the work with a knife!Anyway, you may find yourself wondering why if my trusty old knifes were so wonderful I'd end up buying one these choppers? Well its simple really, I used one at a friends house and just couldn't believe how good it was!I ordered one from Amazon as soon as I got home; that was over three years a go, so here I am giving a review based on extensive use over that period.Ok, lets start with the main selling point of this gadget, its size; it is exactly as advertised, just 190mm in length and 145mm from top to bottom, with an overall weight of approximately 950g.The two things that are quite surprising considering its minimal size are its power and capacity; the motor is 300w, and this coupled with Stainless steel blades, means that it is very good at chopping most reasonable things you throw in it, I use it primarily for onions, garlic, chillies, breadcrumbs and herbs.The bowl has a capacity of 350ml (150g), this is enough for a decent sized onion or a big old hand full of herbs; it is incredibly easy to remove and replace on the chopper, and it is dishwasher safe!The chopper uses a simple One Touch Control for operation; basically its a big grey button on the top that you can either hold down for continuous or tap for pulse. The chopper will not operate unless the safety interlock system is engaged, so to put it simpy unless the bowl is properly in place with the lid attached completely you cannot make the blades turn.This is a really nifty gadget; it is well made (as frequent use over a three year period attests to), effective at its job, surprisingly powerful, aesthetically pleasing, space-saving, well priced and ultimately it does make life in the kitchen easier!Highly recommended.

I have mixed feelings about this product. I bought one last year, several months before buying this unit, however the first one failed to arrive in time for Christmas, so I ended up keeping it myself and buying this one to give as a gift for my son and daughter in law much later in the year. From day one I have struggled to remove the bowl from the base unit on the one I have. The product is also stated to be two different speeds, however, no matter how gentle I am with the button the only two speeds I've noticed are 'on' and 'off' !!! I cannot differentiate between the speed it chops at when the button is depressed half way and when pressed down fully.No matter how gentle I am, it disintegrates mushrooms to mush and anything other than rock hard cheese just ends up in a glob that rolls round the bowl. Having said that, when it comes to vegetables, it is brilliant and reduces the time for which they need to be cooked when making soups or stews where it doesn't matter if neat slices of veg is important. With this in mind and because I had a new grandson whose food would need to be chopped up small, I went ahead and bought the second unit as a gift. Big attraction was that the item only has a small footprint so my son would be able to find space for it in his crammed kitchen.However, although they have not said anything about the unit, I noticed that after only a few weeks of use, one of the lugs on the bowl had been broken off, clearly because of the difficulty in removing the bowl from the base unit. A few weeks ago, when the unit was less than 3 months old, I noticed that the second holding lug had also been broken off the bowl. So Kenwood need to address the difficulty removing the bowl from the base unit. Thankfully the integrity of the bowl wasn't damaged and the chopper still works. My one continues to prove fiddly to remove the bowl, but I obviously have more patience than my son and d-in-l, so I jiggle the bowl until I get it off the base unit. I do consider it a design fault though.Small tip. The bowl is acrylic so will stain when chopping carrots. Put a few drops of olive oil or similar onto a piece of kitchen towel and rub round the bowl to remove any staining. Works a treat.