Last year, Colin’s big gift from his grandparents was a play kitchen and accessories. At just past 18 months, he was just inching into the world of pretend play, and I wanted to capitalize on that interest and energy. In the many months that have passed since then, his interest in the play kitchen has grown exponentially. Colin will busy himself making “soup” and “picnics” and “washing his hands” and “making breakfast for mommy.” The play kitchen is conveniently located adjacent to our own kitchen, and as C has gotten older, the kitchen has been where I have seen his skills in independent play develop by leaps and bounds. Interestingly, while I read about a zillion reviews of the kitchens themselves (we picked this one), it’s the accessories and food that really opens the doors to adventurous and creative experimentation in the kitchen.

We don’t own all of these, but somehow, no matter where we are playing, whether it’s at home, a friend’s house or a play space, Colin drifts to the play kitchen, so he has played with all sorts of different brands and styles of toy food. These are some of our favorites that we either own or are lusting after, if only we had unlimited money and space to store it.

1) Homegrown Toys Wooden Eggs  |  2) Plan Toy Vegetable Set  |  3) Melissa & Doug Cutting Fruit Set  |  4) Baby’s First Veggies Knitted Play Food |  5) Melissa & Doug Food Groups  |  6) Ikea Duktig Felt Vegetables  |  7) Learning Resources Farmers Market Color Sorting Set

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I love having a wide variety of primarily healthy toy foods for him to experiment with in his kitchen. Some of my favorites are the Melissa and Doug series of foods, including the Food Groups for variety and the Cutting Fruit for developing fine motor skills. When it comes to veggies, I feel like the more choices the better, and just as different foods have different textures, I love all the different materials available for play food! Ikea makes amazing and affordable felt food, Plan Toys makes excellent wooden veggies with felt accents, and the nicest plastic play food I’ve seen is made by Learning Resources (this set has an added bonus of helping kiddos sort by color). And if you’re looking to splurge on something gorgeous and hand made, there are an astonishing number of Etsy sellers creating everything from handmade wooden eggs to handmade knitted food.

1) Learning Resources New Sprouts Picnic Set  |  2) Green Toys Tea Set  |  3) Melissa & Doug Ice Cream Scoop Set |  4) Hape Pizza Set

Once you’ve stocked your pantry, there are other cute “sets” that can be added to complement your child’s experience. Colin is obsessed with making picnics, and we were gifted this adorable picnic set that is constantly sprawled across our carpet. There are other special collections that always attract Colin like a moth to a flame when we see them at friend’s houses. He loves the Melissa and Doug Ice Cream set, the Green Toys Tea set, and the Hape Toys Pizza set.


1)  Kidkraft Cookware Set |  2) Melissa & Doug Wooden Cook Set  |  3) Kidkraft Chef Accessory Set  |  4) Ikea Baking Set  |  5) Ikea Cash register

And of course, Colin and his pals are huge fans of the pots and pans and other vessels that make great tools for mixing, cooking and baking.  We have the KidKraft pots and pans set and his best buddy has the Melissa and Doug wooden set – both are amazing. I would love to add the Ikea baking set to go along with what we have. Plus other kitchen accessories I have found that would be incredible gifts for a kitchen-loving-kiddo would be this cash register from Ikea and this accessory set of chef’s hat, apron and tools made by KidKraft.


1) Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart  |  2) Little Tykes Shopping Cart   |  3) Hape Shopping Cart

Finally, if you are lucky enough to have the space, I would recommend a shopping cart to round out the kitchen experience. My child is O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D. with these carts.  His face lights up when we are at a play space, and they have one of these. He loads it up with food, and pushes it all over and talks all about his purchases and what he’ll make. I love that there are great options at a variety of price points and made of a slew of different materials.  My favorites are the Melissa and Doug metal cart, the Little Tikes plastic cart and the Hape Toys wooden cart.

What are your favorite play kitchen toys and accessories?