House Husband in Training ~ The Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen
Written: Aug 08 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: ● Durable
● Gender Neutral
Cons: ● 9 Batteries!
● Some of the phrases are difficult to decipher
The Bottom Line: Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen is probably not the "best" play kitchen on the market, but it’s fun nonetheless.
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| marybatson's Full Review: Little Tikes Cook 'n Clean Kitchen |
The Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen is a pretend play kitchen for toddlers and preschool aged children two-years and up. It’s interactive, and includes 50 different sound effects in 3-different languages: English, Spanish, and French. The toy includes IntelliTikes pretend food, which have microchips safely sealed on the inside. When placed on the stovetop the electronic sensor recognize the playfood, and the kitchen voice is activated. This toy is a combination kitchen and laundry center. It has an ironing board, and a washer and a dryer on one side, while the kitchen facilities are on the other side. It’s neutral in color, mostly beige, with green, yellow, and blue accents. The toy offers a dozen or more activities, and the following 21 accessories are included: iron, cordless telephone, 2-coffee cups, coffee pot, 2-spoons, 2-forks, 2-knives, 2-plates, 2-tumblers, a skillet, a spatula, Intellitikes chocolate chip cookie, French fries, bottle of ketchup, and grilled cheese sandwich.
This kitchen is big at 45” wide x 14” deep x 44” high; however, the laundry side swings onto the backside of the kitchen to save storage space. See the following website for move photos: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002CK9RA/104-5159513-4311928?v=glance The folding option encourages separate activities with the laundry being on the back, and the kitchen on the front. The Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen and all its accessories are made of durable plastic, and include 15 fun decals. As a bonus, the backside of the unit includes molded features that represent kitchen cabinets. The voices are all female, but the English voice is sort of squeaky, and a little whinny. Some of the phrases are difficult to decipher, and the French woman is only partially comprehensible. I speak French, but not fluently, yet one would think an adult should be able to decipher a child’s toy. There is no volume control, but the sounds are not loud. I’m not sure how much the kitchen weighs, but my little one has no trouble dragging it around the house. The plaything requires nine AA batteries, which are not included. The battery compartment is located on the stovetop, which is mounted to the kitchen with a screw. In two-years time, I have yet to replace any of the batteries.
Following is a brief mention of the activities:
● The stovetop is battery-operated, and requires three AA batteries. It has a knob that indicates high and low temperatures. When the knob is turned, the sound effects are activated. Following are some of the most common sayings: “It’s time to eat.” “Let’s cook your favorite” “Dinner’s ready.” “Don’t forget to clean up.” “What’s on the menu today?” The speaker, and the language controls are located on the stovetop.
● The battery-operated iron is portable and features “steaming” sounds, a clicking button, and a knob that turns. The iron lights up when it steams and requires two AA batteries.
● Both the washer and the dryer have swing out doors, and deep shelves to store things. Between the doors is an interactive button that makes washing and drying sounds.
● The telephone is portable, and slides into a cradle located behind the stovetop. It’s battery-operated and requires two AA batteries. The phone rings, and beeps when the buttons are pressed.
● The refrigerator has a swing out door, and includes an ice machine. Inside the refrigerator are two deep shelves to store things.
● The sink features a faucet, and a molded basin. The faucet moves from left to right, and the sink is deep enough to hold food, or silverware.
● The over, dishwasher, and microwave all have swing out doors that include shelves to store playfood.
● The coffee maker has a small alcove for the coffee pot.
● The ironing board is shaped as such, and has a molded tray to store the iron.
● Just behind the faucet is a molded plate rack that stores up to 4 plates.
Assembly:
A Phillips Head screwdriver is required for assembly. There are 40 steps in all, which took me an hour and a half to complete. That includes carrying the box in from the car, down to placing the decals. The manual is in English, Spanish, and French, and is fairly easily to comprehend. The box is very large: nearly 4’ x 2’. If you do not own a truck, or SUV, you may want to borrow one. Fortunately, it’s not heavy. I carried the box without assistance.
Our Experience:
As the mother of a boy, I was relieved to find that Little Tikes offered a play kitchen that doesn’t scream “girl.” My son was three when he received this toy for Christmas, and he couldn’t get enough of it. So much, so that we temporarily moved it into the family room, so he wouldn’t be tempted to play at bedtime. As time passed, he seemed disenchanted. I didn’t think much about it, because children do that with toys. William has a drawer full of pretend food, and dozens of kitchen utensils, so his boredom wasn’t due to the lack of accessories. The child adored the DiscoverSounds Kitchen , so I thought the Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen would be the ultimate in gifts. Then I noticed he’d play with the kitchen when friends came to visit. In fact, when the neighbor friend comes, the two cook and clean for an hour.
Little Tikes offers additional Intellitikes food packs such as the Birthday Pack, the Breakfast Pack, and the Italian Pasta Pack. They retail anywhere from $15.00 to $20.00 a set. It’s kind of neat to place the grilled cheese on the stovetop and hear sizzling sounds and the voice say, “Grilled cheese, that sounds yummy. Careful it’s hot!” In my view, they aren’t worth the price though.
The Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen retails for $100.00, but I took advantage of an October special of 20% off any purchase from Toys R Us. Thus, $80.00 wasn’t a horrible price to pay. Then again, I’m not convinced this is the best play kitchen for the price. There are no safety hazards, such as small parts to swallow, and the toy looks new even though we’ve had it for two years. One of the decals was “accidentally” peeled off, but Little Tikes is always good for replacement parts. Therefore, even though this toy hasn’t received the action I was hoping for, it’s still an awesome toy, that’s extremely durable, and loads of fun when two or more are at play.
A special thank you to MaryTara for taking the time to add the Cook ‘N Clean Kitchen to the database for me.
The Little Tikes Company
2180 Barlow Road
Hudson, Ohio 44236
1-800-321-0183
www.littletikes.com
Additional Kitchen-Type Toy Reviews:
DiscoverSounds Kitchen by Little Tikes
DiscoverSounds Stackin’ Pans by Little Tikes
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): $80.00
Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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marybatson
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Member: Mary
Location: Phoenix
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