Hello, I’m Elaine.

I guess you’re here because you’ve heard about, or are thinking of buying a Magimix Food Processor and may be undecided on which one is best for you.

Or perhaps you’ve had your eye on a particular model for a while and would like to compare prices to make sure you get hold of one for the very best price.

At the same time I’m sure you’re keen to steer clear of the shoddy and cheaply made fake stuff flooding in from China (via Africa) these days. Oh yes, they ARE out there. Especially on a famous auction site we all know and love!

So watch out if a deal looks too good to be true… because, guess what? It probably is!

OK, so who am I?

Great question!

And an equally valid question would be, “Why on earth should I take any notice of what this Elaine person has to say?”

The Cookery School

Well, I like to think I have a fair bit of in-depth ‘know how’ and many years of experience in the preparation of food using most makes of food processor. But who am I to say? You should be the judge.

So let me give you a bit of background on who I am and what I do…

Twenty one years ago I met a lovely man called Richard. Two years later we had married and opened the doors to a brand new cookery school in rural Dorset. Since then – as you can imagine – we have seen dozens of makes, types and all shapes and sizes of food processor come and go along the way.

Yep, we’ve pretty much seen and tried ‘em all.

Only the best get a look in

Every one of our food processors has been put to the test and subjected to the unrelenting “enthusiasm” of our students day in, day out.

It’s fair to say the school’s food processors have indeed been subjected to stern and thorough testing. Some survived, others didn’t do so well. I want to tell you about the one’s that survived.

And that in a nutshell is why I decided to put this site together.

I felt compelled to take to the keyboard because I have yet to come across a food processor review website that has clearly been written by someone who has in fact had many years of first hand experience using the things.

Most of the ‘review’ websites I see these days look like they are hell-bent on trying to sell you something! Don’t you agree?

So whether you’re a full-time professional chef or a part-time home cook with a passion for food, I thought you’d find it useful if I let you in on what Richard and I have seen and learnt about food processors over the years and what our students (the end-users) have also thought of them… the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

This means I’m going to give you the complete low-down on what I believe to be the best performing, best value, rugged and most reliable food processors available in the UK today, namely…

the Magimix Food Processor range.

Also, by being actively involved in a cookery and catering business I can point you in the direction of reputable, reliable and highly respected suppliers who often run special deals and discount offers on this top quality range of food processors. I thought you’d find that useful too.

Why a Magimix Food Processor?

Simply because I’m not a fan of any ‘budget’ ones.

Having said that, I must admit we did buy cheap food processors in the early days when the school first started, because we had no choice. We had little money at the time so couldn’t afford decent equipment, only to find what we’d bought just wasn’t up to the job. Failure followed frustrating failure and spare parts were either non-existent, nigh on impossible to get hold of, or HUGELY expensive.

Yes, we learnt the hard way. Cheap food processors had proven to be a complete waste of time, money and energy. All the things that tend to be in short supply when you’re working to keep a new business afloat.

The school started to suffer as a result and we were getting worried… until Richard met Jamie Oliver (before he became REALLY famous) at a local business networking meeting.

He recommended Magimix.

We bit the bullet, raided our dwindling savings, gave one a try, and haven’t looked back since.

Our savings were almost totally exhausted as we gradually re-kitted the school with each model in the Magimix food processor range. Make no mistake, they are NOT cheap. Reminding me of the old saying (no matter how hard you try to ignore it when you’re strapped for cash)… “You only get what you pay for in this world”!

So for that reason, only the most robust, reliable and reputable food processors get a look in here. I hope that’s OK with you.

Shall we get started?

The Magimix Food Processor range consists of three models, namely:

• Magimix 3200
• Magimix 4200
• Magimix 5200

Plus the XL variants of each model.

XL Feed Tube

The XL versions of the 3200, 4200 and 5200 are fitted with an Extra Large (‘XL’) Feed Tube. This is the only difference over the standard models. You’ll find the XL useful for feeding in large veggies like whole potatoes you want cut into chips.

Slicing apples and those big Mediterranean tomatoes using the XL feed tube is also a breeze.

 Magimix food processor model overview

First, let me give you a brief overview of the main differences between each model in the Magimix food processor range. For further in-depth stuff, feel free to browse around the site and check-out the individual review pages for each of the models. Just click on the model number below.

OK, so here’s a quick “what’s what” for each model:

• Magimix 3200 is designed to cater for 2 to 4 people.
• Magimix 4200 caters for 4 to 5 people.
• Magimix 5200 provides for 5 or more people, dinner parties and large batch cooking.

If storage space is a concern to you, it’s worth noting the 5200 is slightly larger than the 4200, but both models take up a similar amount of space as the 3200 on your kitchen worktop. So that shouldn’t be a worry.

3 bowls to make things really easy

Every Magimix food processor is supplied with 3 different sized bowls as standard:

• Mini bowl with its own serrated stainless steel blade for the small stuff.
• Midi bowl for slicing and grating. Useful for salads.
• Main bowl for egg whisking, dough making, soups, smoothies, purées and cake making… plus pretty much any other food processing job you can possibly think of.

Here’s a short video showing how the 3 bowls work together

With the three bowls stacking inside each other in this way, it’s easy to process small bits and pieces in the mini bowl without having to remove the other two bowls to do so. A word of caution though, don’t overfill the mini bowl. If you do, you’ll most likely see an overflow into the midi and main bowls.

Then you’ll have to wash up all three bowls instead of just the one. Kind of defeating the object in a way.

So if a recipe requires use of the midi bowl, it’s best not to be tempted to squeeze ingredients into the smaller one whatever your reason for wanting to do so.

“I bought this to replace a 20 year old food processor. This Magimix food processor takes up much less space on my work surface, looks very good and most importantly works really well. So far I have used it for grating carrots, slicing cucumbers (in the middle size container) and making pesto very quickly (in the smaller bowl). I like the versatility of having three different bowl sizes.” – Maggie B

Tough as nails

Whilst on the subject of bowls, I should mention the Magimix ones are the toughest food processor bowls I’ve ever known. Apparently the lid and the bowls are made out of a plastic called Lexan – the same type of plastic used for crash helmets, riot shields and aircraft windows. And that’s tough! In fact it’s claimed a sheet of Lexan just 3mm thick will stop a bullet.

So you could say a Magimix Food Processor is well and truly bullet-proof!

However, back in our world… should you drop the lid or any of the bowls on an unforgiving quarry-tiled floor (like I have a few times over the years) it’ll bounce about a bit and shrug things off as if nothing had happened. Very handy, when you consider a shattered bowl would cost you around £30 to replace.

“I am impressed with the build quality of the Magimix food processor. The bowls and cover are made from polycarbonate plastic which is the same plastic as crash helmets are made from. I’ve dropped the hopper/lid a couple of times and it hasn’t cracked. Cheaper processors use acrylic plastic and this shatters easily.” – Ronald D

What you get in the box

I’m aware of much confusion around relating to exactly what comes as standard with each of the Magimix model types, and quite frankly I’m not too surprised, because it can be a bit of a jumble and also depends on whether you’re buying your chosen Magimix food processor in White, Cream, Satin Steel or Chrome finishes!

So to clear up the confusion once and for all, and to help you choose the right Magimix food processor for you, here is the definitive list of what you get packed inside the box along with your processor, its three bowls and the lid…

	3200 White Satin Chrome	4200 White Cream	4200 Satin	4200 Chrome	4200XL Satin Red	5200 White	5200 Satin	5200 Chrome	5200XL Satin
S/Steel Blade
Dough Blade
Egg Whisk
2mm Shredding Disc
2mm Slicing Disc
4mm Shredding Disc
4mm Slicing Disc
French Fry Disc
Parmesan Disc	*
Citrus Press<
Juice Extractor
BlenderMix
XL Feed Tube
Spatula
Storage Box
Recipe Book

The Innovative BlenderMix Attachment

I hope this makes things a lot clearer. But if you have any questions, by all means contact me - I’ll be happy to help.

Before moving on, when you saw BlenderMix on the list, did you wonder what on earth it is?

Well, every Magimix food processor now comes fitted with this quite innovative attachment.

The BlenderMix attachment is a really clever gizmo designed by the boffins at Magimix that significantly improves the blending capabilities of your food processor.

In purely technical terms it “converts centrifugal force into a vortex”.

Which means, in words I understand a lot better, the BlenderMix attachment turns your food processor into a blender – making your smoothies, milk shakes, soups, cake mixes and pancake batter so much smoother. Something that seems to evade most other makes of food processor in my experience.

Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than lumps in your smoothies is there?

Makes you wonder why other food processor manufacturers haven’t fully embraced this innovative form of technology doesn’t it?

Let’s now take a closer look at the most common accessories that come with your Magimix Food Processor.

Running down the above list from the top, we have:

Stainless Steel Blades

Small Blade for mini bowl. Sabatier stainless steel blade for use with mini bowl only.

Great for chopping herbs and mixing baby foods dips, mayonnaise and vinaigrettes.

Main Blade for midi and main bowls. Sabatier stainless steel blade for mixing, chopping, liquidising and mincing.

WARNING: Both blades are VERY sharp. Be sure to watch your fingers!

Dough Blade

Does what it says… makes dough! Mix together flour and butter in the bowl, then add water through the feed tube until a ball of dough is formed. Simple as that.

Egg Whisk

For whipping egg whites and cream. Specially designed geared egg whisk that automatically adjusts its speed to the load.

2mm and 4mm Slicing/Shredding Discs

The 2mm Slicing/Shredding Disc finely slices cucumber, cheese, lemons and limes for drinks, mushrooms, onions, olives for salads and oranges for making marmalade.

The shredder fine grates cheese, carrots and chocolate.

The 4mm Slicing/Shredding Disc is ideal for slicing firm tomatoes, cheese, iceberg lettuce, apples, courgettes, celery, mushrooms and peppers.

The shredder on the reverse side makes short work of grating and shredding beetroot, carrots and similar small vegetables. Great for coleslaw.

Parmesan/Rasping Disc

The Parmesan Disc is for grating hard cheeses such as Romano, Pecorino, Gruyere and, of course, Parmesan. Can also be used as a general grater for making crushed ice, breadcrumbs and chocolate flakes.

Citrus Press

Hinged Citrus Press with anti-splash arm and 2 sized cones, one for larger citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit, and a smaller version for juicing lemons and limes.

Storage Box

For storing the main blade and discs out of harm’s way in the interests of safety and good hygiene in a busy kitchen. Storage included for four discs, dough blade, main blade and egg whisk.

One more thing…

…by way of a brief summary:

• Every new Magimix Food Processor comes with a full 3 year parts and accessories warranty, plus the impressive 12 year warranty to cover the motor.
• The Magimix 3200 is specifically designed for the single cook, couples, and smaller families of up to 4, with a maximum bowl capacity (main bowl) of 2.6 litres.
• The maximum capacity of the Magimix 4200 (3 litres) is 15% greater than the 3200 and so caters for around 5 to 6 people. Because of the increase in main bowl capacity, the 4200 is fitted with a higher powered motor (950W) than the 3200 (650W).
• The 5200 is the big daddy of the Magimix food processor range and will comfortably handle the food processing requirements of up to 8 people. The 5200 main bowl capacity is a massive 40% bigger than the 3200 and 20% larger than the 4200. Motor power is again increased to 1100W.

What all this means when comparing the capabilities and capacities of each model in the Magimix Food Processor range, is shown in this table:

Much of what is useful to know before deciding on a particular model of Magimix Food Processor, can be found in the Consumer Guide published by Magimix themselves. You can get a copy by clicking this link: Magimix Food Processor Consumer Guide. Currently available spares, extras and accessories are listed here.

And finally

I think it fitting to draw this general overview of the Magimix Food Processor to a close by handing the last word to the manufacturer…

“Four good reasons for choosing Magimix – Simple, Beautiful, Robust, Efficient”