At some point, we all stole some pots and pans from the kitchen and started playing around. I remember making it a weekly routine to pretend-cook for the whole family!
Letting your imagination go wild with empty pots was the best part of the day. Now, you can help your kids play the same game, except with lots more fun. Melissa and Doug’s food sets provide the closest thing to a real cooking experience. They’re available in a wide array of foods, so your kid gets a taste of everything.
Here, I’ll list the best Melissa and Doug food sets on the market, so you know what to get for your kids! Still debating on what play kitchen to get? Don’t miss our guide to play kitchens here.
The Best Melissa and Doug Food Sets for Your Play Kitchen
There are dozens of Melissa and Doug food sets on the market with a lot of different shapes. You can get some countries’ cuisines to teach your kid about other cultures, and you can get food groups to teach them about categories.
Here are some awesome sets your kid will love, this is a round up of all of our absolute favorites.
Melissa & Doug Wooden Frozen Treats Set
Are we in winter, and ice cream trucks no longer come around? No problem; these frozen treats from Melissa and Doug will distract your kid long enough until summer comes around.
The set comes bearing 24 wooden pieces, including three ice cream fillings, six cookies, six ice pop halves, and two Italian ice inserts. Aside from the miniature food, it also contains two spoons, two ice cups with their lids, and a menu card.
The toys are large enough not to be choked on, so you don’t have to worry about your kid trying to eat them. Still, it’s only recommended for ages more than three years old.
If you want to teach your kid about basic shapes and words, this fridge food set is one fun way to do it. They probably already see similar foods in the house’s refrigerator; having a tiny fridge set for their own playtime will help familiarize them with grocery foods.
The set contains milk, ice cream, cheese, butter, waffles, frozen vegetables, yogurt, and orange juice. They’re made of MDF wood and hand-painted for realistic results. Your kid will absolutely love the set.
Melissa & Doug Pizza Party Play SetMelissa & Doug Pizza Party Wooden Play Food Set With 54 Toppings
If I weren’t a mature adult, I would’ve absolutely gotten this awesome pizza set for myself. With the red stripes and pepperoni slices lining the pizza, the set will make your children feel as if they’re Sicily-born.
The best thing about this set is the equipment that comes with it. Your kid will get a large tray for serving, a spatula, a cutter, and six slices that stick together using sticky tabs. Cutting it will give a satisfying sound, making your kid think he cut a real piece of pizza. The set includes 63 toppings of pepperoni, mushroom, and veggies.
If you intend to buy the Fridge Food Set, it’d be a good idea to buy this food groups’ set with it. That way, your kid will learn about all the basic foods at once, and he’ll be able to differentiate between food groups. You can also take the chance to teach him about the nutritional value of different foods, such as the protein content in fish and so on.
The set includes four groups, divided into dairy, fruits and vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. Each group has its own box. You can create a fun mix-and-match game for your kid using it.
Melissa & Doug Slice & Stack Sandwich Counter
You won’t make sandwiches for your kids forever. At some point, they’ll have to learn to do it on their own, and there’s no better way to teach them than this Melissa and Doug set. The pretend sandwich counter comes with plenty of components that your kid can match into sandwiches.
At a young age, your children will learn how to match components, and they’ll know what items and foods go well with each other.
There’s also an illustrated steps map to tell them what to do, improving their brain functions and analytic thinking.
The set contains 52 pieces, a drinking cup, some play money, and a wooden slicer. It’d be ideal to buy with the Food Groups Set set, so they’re aware of the nutritional value of all components.
Melissa & Doug Slice & Toss Salad Set
Salads are kids’ worst enemies, especially if there’s broccoli included. If you want your kids to love salads or even accept them as a healthy meal, this Melissa and Doug set is an excellent option to consider.
It’s a large set, including 50+ pieces of salad components, including greens, proteins, veggies, and toppings. It offers a close to real experience with the string that comes out of the dressing bottles when squeezed. Additionally, most food pieces make a satisfying crunching sound when chopped, thanks to the self-sticks between them.
Your kid will get the full experience of making a salad and matching the components. As he gets the hang of it, you can let him join on in making a real salad plate, so he can live the real experience as well.
If you buy this set, I suggest getting it with the Slice & Stack Sandwich Counter. Paired, they’ll be good mix-and-match practice for your kid.
Is Melissa and Doug Toy Food Safe?
Kids like to explore their surroundings by tasting everything they can get their hands on, and food toys are at the top of the list. Even if they’re too big to be choked on, the material may serve as a safety hazard. That’s why most parents will need to make sure Melissa and Doug’s toys are safe before buying them.
Food toys from Melissa and Doug are mostly made of MDF wood, and they’re hand-painted and sealed afterward. MDF is supposedly only a safety hazard if its sawdust is inhaled. The sealants used as an external layer prevent that from happening.
That being said, There isn’t a definitive ‘safe’ label on the toys, causing some controversy among worried parents. I suggest taking the necessary means to keep your children from tasting the toys. That way, no harm will come their way. Food toys hardly have sharp edges or any shapes that can cause injuries, so no need to fret over the matter.
Melissa and Doug Food is Awesome!
The food sets from Melissa and Doug have been taking the market by storm since they came out. It’s basically every kid’s dream to have a mini kitchen and cook all the delicious meals he can get his hands on.
If your kid has a kitchen toy, start filling it with Melissa and Doug’s food sets. They’re loads of fun to play with, and they come in a wide variety of shapes and types.
Best of all, they are economical, and last basically forever. This is just a few of our favorites when it comes to Melissa and Doug food sets, and are perfect as a gift! Don’t forget to check out more of the great selections available.
You may be raising a top-tier chef in your house; you never know!