Fun Pretend Play Ideas for Kids: Host a Cooking Show
Hands on Activities
Host a Pretend Cooking Show with DIY Pretend Food Ingredients!
Main Idea
Kids can enjoy cooking without using a stove! By adding DIY craft food ingredients to toy food and kitchen tools, your child can be the imaginary host of their own cooking show!
Activity Prep
(What we used)
Kid-Friendly Cooking Show (YouTube, Netflix, etc.)
Toy Knife and kitchen tools (If you don’t have a toy knife, you can cut a cardboard box or make a knife shape with aluminum foil.)
Ingredients Imitations (You can use items like pipe cleaners, leftover felt, cut-out construction paper, toy foods, towels, Play-Doh, and more! )
(Optional) Kitchen Tools at home (**Use only safe kitchen tools that do not have sharp points or blades)
My son absolutely loved watching kids' cooking shows. One day, he excitedly told me, "I wish I could cook like they do!" I thought he was a too young to handle a big knife and use the stove, so I got creative. I gathered some pipe cleaners, leftover felt, construction paper, toy foods, towels, and anything else that looked sort of like ingredients. His face lit up with happiness! It was such a fun way to let him enjoy cooking like a show in a safe way.
How We Played
Getting ready
We watched the show first and gathered toy food, then made additional ingredients we didn’t have from stuff at home.
I forgot which show it was, but he wanted to cook "Mapo Tofu with deep-fried tofu." We used a white towel for rice and put it in a bowl. We cut felt and pipe cleaners for other ingredients like green onions, deep-fried tofu, and ground pork.
Just like the cooking show
I arranged each ingredient in cups like they do on cooking shows.
Show time!
With the ingredients and kitchen tools ready, it was time to cook! He was very excited! We had to pause the video many times to follow each cooking step.
It looks delicious! I played the role of the audience and enjoyed the chef's special dish. Then, he said, "I want to do this again!" So, we started over and over again.
Getting all those ingredients ready was worth it! Stir-frying menu is the easiest way to do this activity. It also gives kids a chance to learn the importance of cleaning up after cooking.
