We have a few Melissa and Doug wood fire sets (sandwich, veg, sushi) but this is the best quality. While the others are not painted on the inside, the fruit base is painted to look like real fruit inside and out. My 19 month old loves to cut and pick fruit with velcro and is starting to get really good with a wooden knife. We glued the cardboard backing to the inside of the box. I know it's just part of the attractiveness of the packaging, but the box is much prettier with a back.