Customer Reviews

Cuisinart BFP-703 SmartPower Duet Blender and Food Processor, White

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(42)

 

 

I was excited to get this Cuisinart a month or so ago because I love to cook, but I'm a college student who lives in an apartment. I don't have tons of space (or money, for that matter) to blow on two appliances. I have done many things with the SmartPower Duet, and it hasn't failed me yet. I've made deliciously smooth and thick shakes (including one with rum for a party - it was a hit.) I've made amazing salsa. I've made gazpacho. For some of these, I used the recipe book that comes with the machine. There are a lot of good recipes, indeed, but as an added bonus, the recipes give you helpful hints about how to use the appliance the best way - like, which ingredients to add first, instead of just shoving everything in.

Just last night I made a pasta salad with about twenty ingredients, most of which had to be chopped or minced or sliced, so I used the food processor with the chopper to pulverize the garlic and other spices into a nice smooth blend (thus avoiding the dreaded clumps of pungent garlic). Then, I took the spices out and added red and green peppers and other vegetables and chopped them up coarsely, like salsa. Then I put the slicer attachment on to the food processor and sliced perfectly thin slices of cucumber and red onion. I added this to some pasta, provolone cheese, and some olive oil, and voila, I had a great pasta salad in less than half of the time it would have taken me to prepare all of those veggies by hand.

I certainly haven't had any complaints about the workmanship. I love how it feels so sturdy without being bulky - the base is a little wider than most and not flimsy like most other blenders I've used, and the thick, glass blender jar is squat instead of tall and thin, which seems to make blending things a lot easier because the ingredients can easily move around near the blade. The keypad controls are enclosed so it's incredibly easy to clean up splatters and spills. The processor bowl doesn't seem to be flimsy to me (perhaps they've fixed the problem ?). In other words, this thing is great.

I've purchased two of the Cuisinart blenders (a SmartPower Seven-Speed- broke after about 45 uses and a SmartPower Duet - broke after about 30 uses) and both have the same the problem with the black plastic gasket on the bottom breaking. (Call me dumb for purchasing the second one!) Really a cheap part for the Cuisinart product. (All I've used these blenders for was fruit smoothies! I doubt the Duet would have made it throught the first challenge of food processing!) The Cuisinart product may be smart but they sure aren't very strong. I certainly would not classify them as heavy-duty! An improvement would be making the gasket either metal or a plastic with more give. (I won't be going back for thirds!)

I have owned the duet for approximatley one year. I use the blender mostly for milkshakes. The food processor is small, which is ok with me, except I do not like the feed tube. With a processor this small, it's unlikely one would use it to slice or shred, so why bother with the slicing disk and therefore the feed tube? Also, the feed tube makes it too tall to work with right under kitchen cabinets--you must pull it out to use. The motor is loud for both appliances. And the biggest problem is that mine broke this morning while I attempted to make a milkshake rendering both applicances unusable, since now the blade will not rotate. There is a small black plastic disk that fits between the base and the jar that has shattered all on its own. After reading your other reviews, I see I am not the first person to experience this. Buy this item with caution.

I have been looking for a good blender and also a food processor for a while and one day I came across this cuisinart combination in a store. I liked the fact that I could get one device which was both a blender and a food processor (hence saving $$$ and space).

I read a few good online reviews on this product and decided to purchase it from amazon a week ago. I've so far used this device half a dozen times to make smoothies and they come out perfect each time. The motor is very powerful and it gets the job done really quickly. It is also very easy to assemble/disassemble hence making the task of cleaning it very easy.

My only wish is that this product came in other colours too but now I am only being picky.

Yes, my blender also broke on the same place...the black piece on top of the engine decided to give up...Cuisinart will replace for 10 dollar in shipping IF you are under warranty...which I'm not :( I hardly used the blender so I'm pretty disappointed (not sure if that is why it sells for 50% off now)?

This is the second duet by Cuisinart I have purchased. The same piece has broken on both of them. The plastic piece on the base that fits into the bottom of the glass jar has cracked and broken on me twice. At first I thought I didn't fit the pieces together correctly and that it was my fault. I exchanged it for a new one and the same thing happened to me again, this time I know it wasn't me because now I make sure they fit correctly before I blend. When it is in working order it is a great blender, loud but very good. I wish all pieces were metal.

DO NOT BUY THIS MODEL.

I'm very disappointed in the quality of the parts on this dual-use appliance. Although mine didn't start having troubles until more than a year after I received it as a gift. Up until that point it worked quite well as blender/processor. It IS VERY loud.

The locking mechanism on the bottom of the work bowl for the food processor attachment is breaking - one lock at a time. Eventually it won't work at all. As I use this appliance very heavily, I'm pleased that it has lasted as long as it has based on the reviews I've read here. The user manual claims that the food processor parts are dishwasher safe, but I suspect the heat from the d/w has caused the breakage problems.

Cuisinart customer service is AWFUL, I have never been able to get a person on the phone & all voice & e-mail messages go unanswered. So when the work bowl actually breaks I'll just be SOL & I know this thing wasn't cheap. I'm very disappointed as they have always had a good reputation.

I'm sticking with KitchenAid from now on - the extra cost is worth the superior product and classy customer service. Sheesh!

This was a gift and I loved it because it gave me two appliances that I needed in one, a blender and a food processor. My concern is that the locking mechanism on the lid of the food processor portion broke off when it fell 4 inches from my cabinet to a vinyl floor. Now the processor is not usable. Additionally, the floor onto which it fell is soft and even glass when dropped from a considerable height, doesn't usually break. I noticed that someone else from WA had a similar experience so I'm wondering if there may have been some defect in the product. I will contact Cuisinart about replacement parts (as advised by the store that sold it to my gift purchaser).

As mentioned by others, after less tham two weeks use, the black plastic piece above the motor that interlocks with the jar bottom broke. I also bought the Cuisinart name after years of using a Cuisinart food processor. Given the number of people who have had problems with breakage, I will not be buying again.

Add me to the list of folks with a broken blender. I've been very unimpressed by Cuisinart quality. I've replaced the same part on my food processor twice, and now the drive on my blender broke, exactly as described several times below.

I'm buying a new blender, but it won't be a Cuisinart. In fact, I won't be buying any more of their products.