Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Makes realistic sounds |
| Disadvantages: |
American voice, can't buy add ons in the UK |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
no |
Our mission was to find a kitchen for our 2 year old son that wasn't pink and girly! We looked mainly on the ToysRUs website and also visited the store. We were quite attracted to this Little Tikes one which apparently reads the sensors in the stove and responds with over 100 phrases relating to food and cooking. As our son has some speech delay, we thought this would encourage him more to speak as we knew already he loved cooking as he always made a beeline towards the kitchen at the Tots group we attend. It was also
recommended for 2+ whereas some others are for 3+.
*** THE KITCHEN ***
I don't plan to describe everything as you have a rather helpful picture at the top of this review. Working from the top down though the cooker hood has two hooks which is quite handy to hang pans from. Between the two rings on the stove is the language select button and speaker. Behind this there are areas to stack things including a plate rack although our son prefers to use his Velcro ELC bread in here as a toaster. The two knobs to turn and this is how you get the kitchen to talk to you. The right hand cupboard is actually a fridge and you have a pretend water dispenser in the door. The oven itself is somewhat of a disappointment as when you open it, it is mainly a plastic wall with a narrow bit at the top which is more like a shelf for using the grill. The main part of the kitchen is accessed from the front but behind the kitchen is a shelf where you can store things.
The kitchen itself comes with 17 accessories and 5
interactive food items: the latter have chips (electronic ones not potato based ones) in them which work with the sensors to identify the food. The accessories include a frying pan, sauce bottle, crockery, a telephone and cutlery.
*** SOUND EFFECTS ***
Firstly, there are three languages it speaks in: English, French and Spanish. We usually keep in in English but my husband did try the Spanish one to see how to order chips for his travel abroad to Argentina with work but he got a bit confused! It also comes with a volume switch.
Secondly, if you don't like American speaking toys, don't bother buying this. They do refer to the chips as French Fries too. Some of the phrases are quite good. It reads how many items you have on the stove so it might say, "Hmmm, French Fries and Bacon, that looks yummy". It also has some unexpected phrases such as reminding you to feed the dog or save the leftovers and even occasionally you will hear the doorbell. You also get appropriate noises such as bubbling water or frying sounds.
*** SIZE ***
The kitchen is pretty much the size you'd expect: approximately a metre in height, 60cm width and 25 cm depth. You have to bear in mind that the kitchen works around 360 degrees so access to all sides is recommended for full benefit of the kitchen. The cupboards either end need a clearing of 20cm too.
*** ASSEMBLING/INSTRUCTIONS ***
I can only go by observing my Dad and husband 'attempting' to follow the instructions. There are many parts to assemble this kitchen, 22 in all, and in hindsight, attempting to
build it when my son was in bed on Christmas Eve wasn't the best time to go about it. The instructions are written in tiny writing but there are large pictures separate to this that shows how the bits go together. As many men do, they proceeded to just follow the pictures until they got stuck and then read the appropriate bit. This was quite easy as the pictures and written instructions have numbers that correspond to each other. You also need to have a star screwdriver and 3 AA batteries which we thankfully had in the cupboard.
*** COST/WHERE CAN YOU BUY IT ***
We purchased ours via the Toysrus website for £79.99 however they don't seem to currently stock them. A search on Froogle has informed me that there are many places where you can purchase it on the internet and prices range from £79 to £99.99. I cannot recommend one place to choose as I have not bought from any of the suggested retailers but have a look for yourself via www.froogle.co.uk.
*** EXTRA FOOD PACKS ***
There are a possible 4 Intelli-Tikes accessory food packs for this kitchen which will increase the potential for over 700 phrases. We were very excited by this and thought we could get him a pack for Easter and another for his next birthday, etc. Despite my efforts on the Internet, I am unable to source them in this country and
Little Tikes themselves are extremely unhelpful and all they say is that they can't force any retailers to stock them in this country. I can buy them through Amazon in America but they won't export them to me. I am having to wait now for friends to visit America in two months time and they said they will try and get them in a toy shop and bring them back for me.
*** WHAT OUR SON THINKS ***
To say he loves this kitchen would be a huge understatement. We used to have it in the kitchen area but found that he was playing with it constantly and didn't touch his other toys. It now gets moved around to different rooms but if he's in that room, it's what he plays with most. Although we can't currently get the extra food packs, he quite happily uses his ELC Velcro fruit, vegetables and sandwich products with it that work well. They obviously don't have sensors but if he's got them in a pan and turns the hob on, it will make frying or bubbling noises. We've also bought various other cooking utensils and pans which work well and the sensors still know what food we are using even in another pan.
*** WOULD WE BUY IT AGAIN ***
Well, no. It was more expensive than other kitchens and the fact the accessories aren't available to extend the use of the kitchen in this country is appalling. Our son still plays with the kitchen at Tots group which he loves so I think any kitchen would have been wonderful for him. Although he loves the fact that it talks to him, it hasn't helped his speech either.
NB re criteria, it does not have lights or music
