Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen Reviews
Friday, October 1st, 2010 at
6:56 am
Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen
- Encourage creativity
- All in one kitchen
- Perfect addition to Gourmet Chef Cookware and Gourmet Chef Cuisine
- Includes sink, cooktop, oven, or cupboard
- Assembly is simple and all tools and hardware needed are included
-Color: Green. Child size gourmet chef kitchen lets kids create their own meal – time treats. Peek into the oven through the window to check on dinner or turn the chuck knobs to change the temperature. Cleanup is a snap with the sink, hutch and towel rack. It has the cupboard space to store all dishware and pots and pans. Simple classic design and natural colors offer loads of possibilities for playtime. Accessories are sold separately.
Rating: 
(out of 10 reviews)
Tagged with: Chef • Educo • Gourmet • Kitchen • Reviews
Filed under: Wooden Kitchen Playsets
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Review by goonius for Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen
Rating:
We bought this kitchen in the hopes it would be a less toxic option despite being made in China. Hape, parent company of Educo, in response to having a lead recall on its Target line a few years ago seems to have put even more safety measures in place to prevent these sorts of toxic things from being applied to their toys. They source their paints and glues from Germany only, their plywood comes from Russia, and it’s my understanding that only the manufacturing end takes place in China. That said, I was disappointed to find that there are 3 parts to this kitchen that are made of particle board – the inner shelves and the back of the kitchen, thus the 4 stars.
That aside, the kitchen is absolutely adorable. I do wish I’d had more details about the measurements of various parts before ordering and assembling the kitchen, as there seems to be so few details about this item online and as of yet, no reviews.
Overall size: 27.5″ tall X 22″ wide X 13″ deep
I haven’t gifted it to the children yet, as Christmas is 3 months away, but I wonder if it will be large enough to accommodate 2 children at once. I imagine they’ll find a way.
Counter height: 20″
This will be a little short for my 95th percentile 4-year old (we estimated she would need a 22″ counter), but should be perfect for our 18-month old.
Sink: 2.25″ deep, 6″ x 6″ wide
Ample room for washing dishes unlike the comparable Educo My Creative Cookery Club
Burners: Large 4.25″, Small 3.5″
Usable counter space: About 5″ x 9″
Inside shelves: 10.5″ depth x 6″ high x 9.5″ wide (oven side) 8.25″ wide (cabinet side)
Two last things worth mentioning:
1- All those crazy grooves in the upper shelf are made to perfectly accommodate (from left to right) spatula & serving spoon, knives, and two plates sold in the Educo Gourmet Chef Cookware set.
2- We bought this kitchen elsewhere for a small bit more with all the accessories in Educo Gourmet Chef Cookware and Educo Gourmet Chef Cuisine for a really fair price. I’d recommend that option to someone considering the version offered on Amazon. Both the cookware and cuisine are awesome and fit so perfectly that I don’t really get why they’re sold separately to begin with. I plan on reviewing them separately for anyone interested in dimensions on those things. The combined kitchen set also has much more attractive red dials for the stove (these click in a pleasing way when you turn them), and red and blue knobs for the sink. It really improves the look of the whole kitchen.
Overall, this really is a very sweet kitchen, though perhaps not as indoor-air-quality friendly as I had initially hoped. Construction takes just over an hour, with a bit of cursing on the poorly matched holes for the doors, and the painfully small screws which you’d need elf hands to properly manage. The larger screws not only go into the wood but a specially implanted metal piece that in some places was put in crooked. The screws wouldn’t catch at first, and we had to use a really tiny screwdriver to jimmy these metal thingies back into place. Still, not the worst item I’ve ever had to put together.
I’d recommend this to someone on a budget, looking for a kitchen made by a slightly better-than-average-company.
I hope that this is helpful to someone else who feels, as I do, that shopping online leaves you missing all those tiny details that you’d just rather know before you make a purchase.
UPDATE:
This kitchen ended up being the perfect size for both my girls, even the oldest one. They love it, and have played with it daily for the past few months. Since I originally purchased it we’ve run a lead home test kit on the green and orange components. While these are not the most reliable tests, I think it’s worth mentioning that those two colors came up negative for lead. So those are the pros.
The sink faucet issue mentioned by other reviewers can pretty easily be fixed with Elmer’s glue – and it is an annoyance. We glued the sink in too. However, the single biggest gripe I have with the kitchen is that although we let it air for months before Christmas, the smell of the unfinished interior MDF shelves is still INCREDIBLY STRONG. It bothers me. I’m thinking of replacing those MDF shelves, since we’re pretty much stuck with the kitchen, but based solely on the smell when the cabinet/oven doors are open, I probably would have saved up and bought one component at a time of the Plan Toys kitchen since they use E-Zero (no formaldehyde) glues, and do not seem to use MDF at all.
Review by Erin B. Llaneza for Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen
Rating:
The Educo kitchen is the perfect size for our house and serves its function perfectly. The only problem I have with it is that the front door for the oven does not close all the way and the faucet keeps falling out. I have the kitchen in our living room so my son can play while I am working in the “real” kitchen and it drives me crazy that the door never stays shut and the faucet is constantly on the floor.
Review by Amighty for Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen
Rating:
Got this as a Christmas gift for my 2yo daughter, and she loves it. It’s noticeably smaller than the plastic alternatives, and doesn’t have a microwave or anything, but for a kid it’s just as good.
Pros:
Compact size. Fits where other kitchen won’t, and doesn’t just take over the room.
Design. Clean and cool-looking. It’s useful to note that the green color isn’t nearly as neon as Amazon’s pictures appear. There’s plenty of slots for utensils and dishes, and two large cabinets that double as the oven and fridge.
Cons:
Assembly. Of course I expected to put it together myself, but I would really have liked better instructions and more standard size screws. The hinges attach with the tiniest screws I’ve seen, and I had to hunt down eyeglass screwdrivers to put them on. The rest of the screws are allen-screws, and even with the key are slow going. Once I sorted it all out though, it really wasn’t THAT difficult.
Build. The unit is actually really sturdy, and without too many moving parts should last for years. However, I did have one broken dial (it doesn’t click like the others), and the faucet is too easy to remove from the sink.
Review by Deborah J. Hill for Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen
Rating:
I gave this to my grandson for his 2nd birthday. Other friends and family gave him some of the accessories (food pieces, pots and pans). He loves it all!! A great gift and just the right size for their apartment.
Review by Delvene for Educo Gourmet Chef Kitchen
Rating:
We got this four our almost 2 year old for christmas. The size is perfect and compact for our very small home. The construction out of the box was easy, took no time to put together, but there was some adjustments needed as doors didn’t fit properly. not everything sits flush but it’s not in the way or situated so that it would break. The ‘faucet spout’ is also designed so that it can detach without snapping- but our 2yo kept pulling it off- so that’s been put away since the first day and now just plays with the sink. Overall our 2yo loves playing with with it.