Melissa & Doug Cutting Food Play Food Set With Wooden Pieces, Knife, Cutting Board

Melissa & Doug are always top notch!! My 3 year old is a little chef and he loves these

I ordered this for my 2.5 year old daughter who is VERY curious about the kitchen, cooking, etc. She has a play kitchen and tons of plastic "play food", however, I have found that she loses interest in them quickly overall (the play kitchen keeps her attention longer if/when we allow her to use real water in the pots and non-draining sink...). If this sounds like your child, read on!The Melissa & Doug Cutting Food set has been a total A+!! It does actually make a crunch sound when she cuts because of the Velcro between the slices which she seems to really enjoy. I am always leery of buying sets with so many pieces because she just doesn't seem to want to use them for their intended purpose, or the sets don't appeal to her. That is NOT the case with this set!! She loves it for what it is! The pieces have a nice weight because they are constructed from wood. It comes with a wooden knife that has a realistic shape that's rounded at the bottom just enough that it doesn't seem that it would cause damage or scratching if it is used on surfaces other than the cutting board it comes with.My 9 year old son even likes the set! He also likes using them to practice chopping and cutting (he started learning how to make basic recipes in the real kitchen a year ago). But, the thing he really enjoys about it, in his words, "using it to do factions"! It gives him a nice visual for what a 1/4 means when he can chop the pepper into quarters and he now understands reducing basic fractions because of this set - when he chops the pepper or watermelon in half, he started by calling one of the halves 2/4, but visually it made sense to him that 2/4 is also 1/2!If your child or children are in a Montessori School or Daycare, I highly recommend purchasing this set - they will love it! It is great for building and practicing practical life skills. It comes in its own wooden tray (the tray does not have handles, but it is an appropriate size and has ample sides to keep the items from spilling out) making clean up and storage easy for even the youngest kids.I saw in some of the reviews that people complained about the smell - there was no chemical or paint smell to ours, it only has a slight wood smell. My best guess is that Melissa & Doug changed the products that they use on it since those reviews were written. The Velcro seems very good, although we'll see how it will hold up to multiple kids over several years. You could probably replace the Velcro with some effort, if it is needed - but I don't know that it would be the easiest job.

Very good quality. Some are easy to cut some are difficult, making it a learning process for my one and a half year old

This is our second set of play food we have ordered from Melissa & Doug that can be “cut” and connects back together. Our son loved the first set so much we had to buy more. The Velcro lasts well and is easy to reattach. It helps teach fine motor skills & is a safe environment for kids to “help cook”. Provides a long time of entertainment! Bonus that it fits well in our play kitchen.

As with all Melissa and Doug play products this is a nice quality set. Saw this on Miss Rachel and had to get it for my grandkids. They love it. Great for imagination and exposes them to all the good nutritious foods.

We got this for our (just barely) three year old to go along with her play kitchen. What it is is a little crate of make-believe food that your toddler can 'cut' with a wooden knife. Though fairly stylized as fruit (the cucumber is smooth and has no bumps like a real cucumber) you can still tell what everything is supposed to be. The food is made of hardwood and nicely painted with non-toxic paint. Everything is 'pre-cut,' - that is, it's in segments and held together by hook and loop attachments. When the wooden knife is pressed down in the gaps between the segments, it 'cuts' the food, separating the hook and loop fasteners. It works surprisingly well, and even makes a satisfying noise as the hook-and-loop separates, just as if you were really cutting through it. Our daughter really likes it and as we do quite a bit of cooking at home, it is something that she can participate in without using the real 12" carver. In brief:Likes:* Natural materials - We love that it's mostly made up of wood, and minimal plastic. Also love the fact that it has no batteries - something that we've been trying to avoid.* Reasonable facsimile of real items - It's nice that this represents something real, an activity that our child can participate in that not only ties into family activity, but also stimulates her imagination and promotes independent play.* Value - We thought that this set was a reasonable value for the money. It's got lots of food items that 'cut' down to lots and lots of pieces.* Quality - Every piece of food seems to be well-cut and nicely sanded, with no sharp edges anywhere. The crate that came with the food is actually usable and holds all the pieces so they don't get scattered everywhere and stay tidy - an eternal challenge with a toddler.Not so sure about....* The knife - It's not dangerous or sharp or pointy at all. But... It's made of unfinished very thin plywood. The bevel cuts used to make the 'blade' part have tended to splinter slightly with use. I don't see this as sticking in any tiny fingers (else it would be history) but it seems a curious oversight when everything else in the set is so nice and finished. I wondered why they didn't give the knife a different treatment, or use solid wood, but this is probably due to either cost or durability issues, or both. Mind you, this is a small, really a very small, thing and doesn't affect my impression of the kit overall or its usability or charm.In the end this has really worked out and we like it a lot. In addition to the cooking activities, it also allows us to teach about putting things away and other issues of responsibility. (NOT like how daddy leaves the milk out, etc.) Good product!

It can be a challenge to find toys that effectively keep my 2 year old entertained. We do very little screen time, so I'm kind of reliant on toys to have any amount of space. This toy is great! It has kept her occupied for hours. I hope the Velcro holds up well!