GM800 7-Quart 10 Speed 700w All-Metal Stand Mixer

We've been looking for "serious, XL capacity stand mixer to handle the needs of our family/extended family for quite a while, but we kept getting put off by either price or performance Heard about this through a friend who was helping me with the hunt...did my due diligence...placed the order on Friday took delivery yesterday (as in Tuesday..thanks Prime!), fired this baby up last nite to put it through its paces--an important "audition" as we have family coming and I wanted to be sure I could count on this to do what I needed it to...so anyway after a few hours of mixing I'm convinced--and as the saying goes "by golly i think we've got it!". First off (and as I've learned the hard way)...you can spend twice or thrice the price on a 7qt stand mixer and still end up with one that falls short in the bread-type dough/seriously denser batter department...yeah i know some of them look like they can mix cement...and cost about as much as a cement mixer...but when it comes to making the dough...no matter how much dough you spend...you're usually out of luck...or you get lucky like me and hear about this gourmet grade product and take the plunge saving both money and sanity...first off, from the moment you see the box you get a sense of a sophisticated quality product...a sense that continues when you take it out of the box and its heft & feel tell you this isn't some wannabe product. You know almost instantly this is a serious "kitchen tool"--firm, solid, stable...not at all flimsy (which is probably why they came up with the name Gourmet Grade). Its exterior is stainless steel...not stainless steel-looking plastic. As the controls are simple and intelligently placed you need no learning curve to get going (which is great for me because I hate manuals)... I dont have any way to verify if its motor is 700w 698w or 704w...but the sound is in its own way "powerful"--meaning it sounds like a serious appliance, not a wind up racing car. More than sound we're also talking substance here. We whipped up the base for a meringue followed by my famous chocolate coconut mousse filling and it went through both so fast I didn't even have time to finish responding to an email from my son. As I was curious and looking at a number of guests for the weekend...I used it to create my crepe batter which uses powdered pancake mix as a base (what I add to that is my secret) and first I took it slow...because its not much different than flour but this product had no problem with it...the batter came out syrupy smooth with all the ingredients well mixed no lumps or clumps... while the manual says it has a thermal cutoff to prevent overheating... i didnt get the sense it was working anywhere near hard enough to worry about that...and the batter it delivered was a thing of beauty..I also liked the fact you didnt open the box only to find out accessories are extra..it comes with a whisk, pastry/crust hook and flat beater---both of which seem designed exclusively for this product as they deliver real "planetary" action--so there was no unmixed areas around the edges of the bowl (which upset mu kids who live for licking the bowl)...Speaking of bowls & accessories, I'm already thinking I'll be needing a second/spare bowl...the downside of being anti manual is missing the literature that tells you that and how to order it...But even without the manual changing beaters is easy and intuitive the head lifts up with the ease & smoothness of a high end car door and clicks into place in a way that you know "means business"...I could probably go on about this...but suffice it to say I'm impressed both by its design and feel and the results it produces...and besides I got work to do. If you're needing an affordable family sized solution with the power and thinking to handle pretty much everything...I cant think of--or find a better choice. Will start paying more attention to Gourmet Grade products. As an aside, one of the first things that impressed me about this product was the fact they are upfront with things...do your homework most "7qt" stand mixers are in fact between 6.5 and 6.whatever...they get away with seven using the same creative accounting that lets car companies get away with mileage that we never see unless the cars in neutral being towed...seeing the Gourmet Grade folks list 6.7 tells me they're confident enough in their product...not to have to try and mislead their consumers (though my slightly obsessive daughter says its capacity is actually closer to 6.85).

I have a 3 qt and 6 qt professional Kitchenaid. I needed an additional 6 qt so based on reviews I decided to try this. So I'll do a side by side comparison. Sound: Both of the 6 quart machines are louder than the 3 qt. When I first got my 6 qt Kitchen my I though there had to be something wrong with it because it sounded so different (and louder) than the 3qt. But it's been years so that's just the way the presumably larger motors are. The Gourmet Grade is slightly louder than the kitchenaid but not enough to choose one over the other. It's not an ear splitting sort of loud, just a "don't plan on watching TV while you work" sort of loud. Construction: All the components and the machine itself are lighter weight (thinner grade metal) than the kitchenaid. They don't seem flimsy but side by side it's significant. Weight: With the attachments in bowl, GG=23.2 pounds, K=26.6 pounds, my 3 qt kichenaid= 23.4 pounds (without all the attachements in the bowl) The attachment mechanism (tool to head) is the same spring load and twist. The attachments are coated on the Gourmet Grade but not the kitchenaid. Both companies note they are NOT dishwasher safe. I found it interesting the GG even said the bowl shouldn't be put in the dishwasher. I'll be putting that to the test, but I never have put my attachments in the dishwashers just in case. The attachments are metal on both. Noticeably lighter weight on the GG-could spell trouble for heavy mixing. The bowls attach differently. The GG is a little easier, it just sits down and twists vs the K which has a tab on the back side and the sides that you have to set the bowl in and click it. I struggle with getting them lined up sometimes. However, the twist-in motion (based on my 3 qt) can get pretty stinking tight when you work with heavy mixes. With the GG the head moves up and down, The K you have a lever that raises and lowers the bowl. My personal preference is the moving head. It gets very hard on the back to lift that bowl back (lots of muscle power) into place after I lower it to scrap the sides. So if you're getting old and weaker I would say this is a big win for the GG. Splatter shield: GG has an odd (in my opinion) design for it's splatter shield. It fits on nicely but it just has an opening that's a couple inches wide. I spent time searching the box for the spout attachment of it, but there isn't one. The K brands have the ring with an opening but there is a spout you set in there to complete the circle. That way you set it all up, and pour the powders/liquids into the spout and it directs it into the bowl. It makes it way easier to add stuff to the bowl with the paddle moving and less of it ends up on top of the mixer or on the counter. But honestly, most of time we mix without this and it's not the end of the world so I wouldn't say it's work the extra $400. You could probably buy one of the kitchen aid brands on line and use it. In fact...let me try...Yep. It's not a perfect fit but it's dang close. It sits nicely on there but wiggles a bit. I would totally go for it if you want the spout. Motor: I had to turn the GG up higher to get the same mixing power as the kitchenaid, but we're talking turned to 3 vs 1-2 so, again, not a deal breaker for me. If you were doing heavy and thick where you really tapped out the power you might have a problem but if it's just dough and batter I think you'd be fine. My recommendation: If money is no object, buy the Kitchenaid. It's a better quality, heavier components, stronger motor that you're paying for, probably even a better coating. I expect that my old K will outlast this GG but at 1/3 the price, I can replace it a couple of times before I care. And I'm going to guess that with how most of us use them, you stand a very good chance of getting a lifetime out of this one (GG) anyway. Many of you may find the lighter metal an advantage. I would expect it impossible to ever find replacement parts on this GG if needed, nor accessory options. You won't have the problem with the Kitchenaid brand. I read one review that noted the (GG) kneading attachment broke for them. I could see that if you were mixing heavy dough or candy. The attachments for the K do fit on the GG so you could always buy the K brand if that happens. I might not fit the bowl exactly, leaving you to scrape more but height is not an issue. So all in all I'm very happy with the GG even though it is clearly not as beefy as the kitchenaid. Time will tell if I regret or continue praising it.

This mixer sounds like a train going thru your house. It's so loud and sounds like it grinding metal on metal. I'm going to call and see if it can't be exchanged.