A kitchen appliance has a power unit 2 and a removable tool 4 connected through a mechanical interface 12. A controller 16 controls an electric motor 14 driving the tool 4 through the mechanical interface. A vibration sensor 18 identifies the vibrations of the tool and feeds the vibration data to the controller 16. The controller may use the vibration data to identify the tool and/or to select an appropriate drive pattern based on the sensed vibration.