My grandson Benjamin, who will be three in October, has shown an interest in cooking ever since he was capable of showing an interest in anything. Pots, pans, cooking utensils, dishes, doodads he could pretend were for cooking, serving, eating—Benjamin has forever enjoyed playing chef to anyone willing to nibble on his fine faux food offerings. He has a tub full of play food and dishes at my house, a full kitchen set up at his, yet he never tires of pretend cooking.

So when I was offered the opportunity to review the Kids Play Kitchen Pretend Play Cooking Toys Accessories Set from iPlay, iLearn, I knew Benjamin would be up for the task.

The iPlay, iLearn cooking playset comes with 20 pieces of fun food stuff for kids three and older to cook, cut, and pretend, all made of safe and durable ABS materials.

Benjamin inspected, arranged and rearranged his cookware and accessories, and finally settled into concocting a dish or two on Gramma’s less-than-ideal pretend cooking space in the playroom—all while keeping pots, pans, and pieces of food out of the hands of baby brother Robert, who has learned how to create chaos for his big brother.

Things we love about the iPlay, iLearn Kids Cooking Playset

• A nice variety of pieces—cookware, utensils, food—for pretend cooking

• Several pieces for cutting—an action Benjamin finds even more fun than cooking. These pieces are superior to many of the other “cutting” foods in Gramma’s playroom, with interesting foods (crab! bread loaf! hard-boiled egg!) and multiple ways of disassembling.

• Sturdy pieces that seem like they’ll last a while

• Encourages imagination, creative play, dexterity, and learning real life skills

Things we didn’t love so much about the iPlay, iLearn Kids Cooking Playset

• Considering how interesting the cob of corn, bread, and crab are, the orange was rather disappointing. It would have been far better for pretend play—and more in line with the other cut/pull apart pieces—if the orange included pull-apart sections rather than a hunk to be pulled in half (who eats oranges that way?).

• The age recommendation is for ages three and older but because many three-year-olds—and their baby brothers—still tend to put tiny pieces in their mouths, I had to confiscate the teensy whistling lid for the teapot as well as the pressure cooker’s pressure thingamabob (unsure of the technical name). They make for cute accessorizing but will be off limits for now.

Overall, the iPlay, iLearn Kids Cooking Playset ($21.99) was a sure hit with Benjamin. Learn more about this toy and more from iPlay, iLearn at iPlayiLearnToys.com.

Disclosure: I received this product free for review; opinions and photos are my own.