Learning to Cook

Wooden fruit, vegetables, cakes and bread to slice with a toy knife, plus the appliances and tableware to serve them: this shelf gives little cooks everything their play kitchen needs, from 18 months for the first fruit set and from 3 years for most pieces.

Wooden fruit to slice, from 18 months

Among our wooden fruit toys, the Montessori slice and cut fruit set is the place to start: each fruit is held together at the join, and the wooden knife parts it in two. The sliceable fruits set with knife and the vegetable set, both from 2, add more shapes, and the fruit tartlet and the tomato follow from 3. Let your child serve what they have cut on a real plate: slicing then becomes the first step of a meal rather than a game on its own.

Role play kitchen accessories for breakfast, baking and tea

Once slicing is mastered, children want to cook for someone. The pop-up toaster, the waffle maker and the stand mixer turn breakfast into a little routine to act out, and the espresso maker or the white coffee machine with cups is just right for serving the grown-ups. The pink tea party set with teapot, the metal tea set with serving tray and the birthday cake with candles make it a celebration.

A play kitchen, a market bag and an ice cream stand

Starting from scratch? The classic pink play kitchen, one of the largest of our Montessori wooden toys, comes with its own accessories, and the cookware and tableware set (2+) fills its cupboards. The market grocery bag lets your child do the shopping before cooking, and the ice cream stands, in blue or pink, become a summer café on the patio.

The little chef set adds the dress-up pieces so your child looks the part, and the Roberval balance scale (5+) lets older children weigh out their ingredients. Whatever the set, end the game the way a real cook would: wipe the counter and put each fruit back in its basket. In Montessori practical life, tidying up is part of the activity, not a chore tacked on at the end.