The 10 Best Fake Food Sets
This wiki has been updated 16 times since it was first published in July of 2020. Fake food sets are a great way to introduce kids to healthy eating habits, engage in imaginative play, and learn sorting, identification, and fine motor skills. These toys come in many varieties, from basic fruits and vegetables to full meals, and are typically made from high-quality wood, felt, or BPA-free plastic. They can be used on their own or incorporated into a play kitchen. When users buy our independently chosen editorial choices, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Melissa & Doug Prepare and Serve Pasta
2. Learning Resources Farmer's Market Sorting
3. Melissa & Doug Food Groups
Editor's Notes
August 11, 2020:
Fake food sets give children the opportunity to pretend to shop for, cook, and serve meals, just like their parents do. Excellent for independent or group play, they also foster several developmental and learning objectives, making them a favorite for homes and classrooms. When choosing which items to include on this list, we took into account interest, variety, and safety of the toys themselves.
The most heavily represented brands here are Melissa & Doug and Learning Resources, as these companies deliver the most trustworthy options that have been proven to pass U.S. safety standards for children's toys. We love the Learning Resources Bundle of Meals for its wide representation of breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods, even though the size of the pieces is a little smaller than other picks. We also found the Melissa & Doug Food Groups to be a great basic option featuring realistic paint details.
Some of the more interactive selections include the Fisher-Price S'more Fun, which would be great for a backyard camping fantasy. The Melissa & Doug Prepare and Serve Pasta is another engaging choice with everything needed to make a fake Italian meal, including pasta sauce cans and interchangeable fillings for the ravioli. We also enjoy the Melissa & Doug Cutting, which gives youngsters the chance to practice their slicing skills, and can keep them interested for long stretches of time.
These toy meals can be even more fun with a pretend cooking station, like those found in our play kitchens ranking. Children might also enjoy playing grocery store with carts like those found on our kids shopping carts ranking.
Special Honors
Pottery Barn Kids Mini Cooking The Pottery Barn Kids Mini Cooking features everything needed to make a pretend stew, including a stainless steel soup pot, sauce pan, five plastic measuring spoons, an oven mitt, and a felt cucumber, carrot, and head of lettuce. potterybarnkids.com
Spearmint Love Hevea Teethers Infants can get in on the joy of play food with the Spearmint Love Hevea Teethers. They're made from 100 percent natural latex that's textured and painted with safe dyes, and come in several designs, including a head of broccoli, a leaf of kale, and a carrot. spearmintlove.com
4. Fisher-Price S'more Fun
5. Melissa & Doug Sushi Slicing
6. Melissa & Doug Flip and Serve Pancake
7. Learning Resources Fruit Salad
8. Melissa & Doug Cutting
9. Learning Resources Bundle of Meals
10. Melissa & Doug Felt Sandwich
Brittany Miller is a writer, mother, and book nerd based in Los Angeles. Her eclectic professional experience includes writing product copy, managing editorial processes, teaching Literature, Rhetoric, and Creative Writing, and working as a television writer. She holds a BA in English from UC Santa Barbara, a MA in English from New York University, and for a brief time was a PhD Provost Scholar at the University of Southern California. When she’s not at her keyboard, Brittany enjoys running, paddle boarding, decorating (and re-decorating) her apartment, and playing with her son. Throughout her career and personal life, she’s developed expertise in literature, textbooks, automotive gear, office supplies, exercise equipment, home decor, baby products, and children’s toys.