Play Food · Est. 1795★★★★★ 150 reviews

The wooden fruit set they keep coming back to

£14.99£24.99 Save 40%

or 4 payments of £3.74 with Klarna

🛡️ 30-day full refund, no questions. Fewer than 30 returns from 23,000+ orders.

Express · order today for next-day delivery

Standard · 2-3 working days

No batteries
Screen-free
Fine motor skills
Ages 3,7
Solid wood
Wooden crate included
30-day returns
Klarna available

Delivery in 2-3 working days · 30-day returns · Est. 1795

1 Free Gift Spend £50

2 Free Gifts Spend £75

3 Free Gifts Spend £100

as seen in

Real talk

The moment she stops asking for the tablet

You know that feeling when your 4-year-old looks up from real play and you realise you haven't heard 'iPad' in 20 minutes? That's this set. Hand-cut wooden fruit, a little wooden knife, and a crate to keep it all,nothing digital, nothing plastic, nothing that needs batteries. Just tactile, open-ended play that engages their hands and mind the way screens can't.

Parents tell us their children return to this set week after week, mixing it with their toy kitchen or playing shop with siblings. The fine motor work of handling the pieces and using the knife builds real dexterity before school, and you get breathing room.

Joe Jaques, Jaques of London

What's in the box

What arrives at your door

Everything packed in our signature Jaques box, ready to gift or unwrap for yourself.

Wooden fruit pieces, some cut in half, inside the set box

In the box

8 wooden fruit pieces

Hand-finished from solid wood. Apple, orange, banana, pear,each one recognisable and safe to grip. The pieces are chunky enough for small hands to hold without frustration, light enough for a 3-year-old to manage alone.

✓ Cut-in-half design teaches cause and effect
✓ Smooth finish, no splinters
✓ Mix and match with other Jaques play food

Child holding wooden knife, slicing a wooden apple

Play style

Wooden knife included

Child-safe, but with enough weight to feel real. The action of slicing builds hand strength and coordination naturally. No adult assembly needed; ready to play straight from the box.

✓ Real slicing action, not pretend clicking
✓ Develops grip and pressure control
✓ Safe edge, no sharp points

All fruit pieces and knife neatly stored in wooden crate

In the box

Wooden storage crate

Keeps the set contained and teaches tidying as part of play. No scattered pieces; no 'where's the banana' at bedtime. The crate becomes part of the play itself: carrying groceries, packing a picnic, building a shop counter.

✓ Part of the play, not hidden away
✓ Teaches responsibility and routine
✓ Solid enough to last years of use

Ready to play this week

Was £24.99

Wooden Fruit - Play Food Set: £14.99

While they play

What grows quietly while they play

Looks like play. Works like a lesson.

✋

Fine motor control

Gripping, slicing, and placing small pieces builds hand strength and coordination. The work they need before writing and drawing.

🧠

Focus without screens

Open-ended play holds attention longer than apps. No rewards loop, no ping,just engagement that builds stamina.

🍎

Real-world understanding

Pretend play with recognisable objects teaches cause and effect. 'If I cut the apple, it has two halves',that's learning.

👂

Language naturally

Naming fruits, talking through play scenarios, negotiating with siblings,vocabulary grows without worksheets.

What families say about Jaques of London

What parents say when they actually use it

★★★★★

"Excellent quality wood toys, so well made, no sharp edges, all lovely & smooth, very colourful & plenty of choice. Very reasonably priced & so beautifully wrapped you don't want to open them. Highly recommend this company."

Lynda Evans✓ Google review

★★★★★

"Fast delivery, excellent products, extremely good quality and long lasting. My granddaughter loves the toys from here. Good age ranges covered."

Danella Jones✓ Google review

★★★★★

"These toys tick all the boxes, educational, colourful, fun, well made and great service. I just keep buying more and more."

Irene Johnstone✓ Google review

★★★★★

"We love our toys from Jaques of London. The quality is excellent and they're the perfect size for little hands to hold and play with easily. Beautifully made, sturdy wooden toys that will last for years. Highly recommend!"

Tegan✓ Google review

★★★★★

"Harrods grade gifting for a very reasonable price. Not the usual tat from China. Had several hand picked orders fron Jaques, nice to know its a UK business with old school quality."

John A✓ Google review

★★★★★

"I am a real fan of this company. If only I had come across them years ago when my boys were little. It's my go to for beautiful, good quality toys for my granddaughter now and any gift I need to buy. They arrived quickly, prices are reasonable and the special touch is they are beautifully packaged too. I love the heritage of this business!"

Sarah Lardner✓ Google review

★★★★★ 4.9/5 from 97 reviews of this product · 4.6 average across 46,000+ Jaques reviews on Reviews.io and Trustpilot

Get ready for life

Why real play matters

Real brain growth comes from real play.

Play from this age onwards

Safe for small hands at 3; still engaging at 7 when mixed with other kitchen sets or played as a family game.

→

20 min

Real focus time

Parents report sustained single-activity play,the kind that never happens with screens. No 'I'm bored' for at least that long.

→

5+ years

Passes to the next child

Built to hand down. Solid wood doesn't chip or fade like plastic. Works for your own kids and their cousins.

Why this matters right now

231 years Jaques has been making real toys Since 1795. We know what holds a child's attention because we've watched it happen across generations.

100 million+ Toys and games sold Parents trust us because we're still here, still making wood toys the way we always have.

0 screens Required to play No apps, no batteries, no digital guilt. Just wood, imagination, and your child's hands.

230 yrs of making things worth keeping Jaques of London has been crafting games and toys since 1795. This one is built to be handed down, not thrown out.

We really are different

Why wood beats plastic every time

	Jaques Wooden Fruit - Play Food Set	Cheap Alternatives
Lasts years of hard play	✅	❌ Cracks, stains, warps
Safe to chew on (they will)	✅	⚠️ Off-gassing risk
Feels heavy and real	✅	❌ Hollow, tinny, flimsy
No assembly, no parts missing	✅	⚠️ Lost screws, broken hinges
Hand strength builds through use	✅	❌ Too light, no resistance
Gets more beautiful with age	✅	❌ Fades, peels, looks cheap
Pass to next child guilt-free	✅	❌ Landfill in 2 years

Jaques

✅ Multi-year durability
✅ Chew-safe wood
✅ Real weight & feel
✅ No assembly fuss
✅ Builds hand strength
✅ Ages beautifully
✅ Hand down to siblings

Cheap alternatives

❌ Plastic cracks easily
⚠️ Toxin concerns
❌ Cheap and hollow
⚠️ Parts go missing
❌ Too light to use
❌ Yellows and peels
❌ Landfill waste

Ready to play this week

Was £24.99

Wooden Fruit - Play Food Set: £14.99

30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Not right? Return it within 30 days. Full refund, no questions.

Questions & answers

Questions from parents like you

Is this the right set for my child's age?

Yes, if they're between 3 and 7. The chunky pieces suit smaller hands at 3; at 5-6, they mix it with toy kitchens and play more complex scenarios. We recommend it as a first play-food set for 3-4 year-olds buying their own child, and as a gift for cousins and siblings at any age in that range. Catherine McCulloch called it a 'perfect gift for any babies' 1st birthday',that's because it works across years.

Will this actually replace screen time, or am I fooling myself?

It replaces it more often than you'd expect,not all day, but reliably. The reason is the slicing action: it's tactile feedback without a digital reward loop. You're not competing with apps, you're competing with boredom. Parents report 20-30 minutes of solid focus before the next request. That's not nothing.

What if she loses a piece or it gets damaged?

Pieces are solid wood, not glued together, so they don't break the way plastic does. If a fruit goes missing, you can order replacements from us,you're not replacing the whole set. And we offer 30-day returns if it arrives damaged, which almost never happens because our packaging is built to survive delivery.

Why is wood more expensive than plastic, and is it worth it?

Because it's solid wood, hand-finished, and built to be played with hard for years, then passed to the next child. Manda Monium said 'worth every penny full price',because at 3-4 years old, she'll play this set 2-3 times a week for 4 years minimum. That's 400+ plays. The cost per play is pennies. Plastic sets chip, warp, and live in landfill. This one lives in your family.

How much does it cost?

The Wooden Fruit - Play Food Set is £14.99 today (down from £24.99). Klarna is available at checkout if you prefer to spread the cost.

What's your returns policy?

30 days, full refund, no conditions. Return it for any reason and we refund in full. We've been standing behind what we make since 1795.

Ready to play this week

Was £24.99

Wooden Fruit - Play Food Set: £14.99

Our story

Making toys worth keeping since 1795.

Jaques of London was founded in 1795. We invented croquet, table tennis, and the Staunton chess set. For 230 years, we've been making things that pull children away from passive entertainment and into active, curious, hands-on play.

Jaques has been making wooden toys since 1795. We started with games that brought families together. This fruit set carries that DNA: it's designed to be picked up again and again, by different children, in different homes, across years. Wood was our first choice then, and it's still our choice now. Not because it's trendy, but because it works. A child's hands tell you what's real,and real wood feels different. That feeling is where focus begins.

Toys and games that leave something behind: a skill, a memory, a piece of play that gets passed on.
Joe, Jaques of London

Ready when you are