Episode 1: Soma Yukihira has been working at his father Joichiro's diner since a young age, establishing an interest in cooking and vowing to beat his father in a cooking battle someday. One day while his father is away, Yaeko Minegasaki, an urban life planner, arrives and threatens to demolish the restaurant to build a luxury hotel in its place, spoiling all the meat in the pantry to try and get the diner to close down. Remembering Soma's promise to always satisfy every customer that comes to dine, Yaeko orders him to make her a tasty meat dish, promising to never disturb him again should the dish satisfy her. In response to the setback, Soma gathers his wits and uses potatoes and the bacon he bought while shopping to create an imitation roast pork dish. Yaeko greatly enjoys the dish, and fulfills her portion of the deal. Despite the restaurant being saved, Joichiro decides to close it down for three years, opting to travel (and cook) abroad, sending Soma to the prestigious Totsuki Culinary Academy to take the entrance exam and study cooking there as part of the high school division.
Episode 2: Upon arriving at Totsuki Culinary School, Soma is shocked by its grandness, and how famous it actually is, being one of the top culinary schools in the world. Soma also meets many other chefs, all of whom are descendants of gourmet chefs or heirs to high-class food businesses, who have likewise come to take the entrance exam and transfer in. Due to his background as a low-class diner chef, Soma is looked down on. When it comes time for the examination, most of the participants flee upon hearing that Erina Nakiri, a legendary food genius with the most selective palate known to mankind (nicknamed 'The God Tongue') will be their examiner. For fun, Erina changes the exam and orders Soma to cook an egg dish to satisfy her instead. He creates an ordinary-looking rice with seasoning, only to reveal that the seasoning contains chicken aspic, which enhances the flavor greatly. Despite being overwhelmingly impressed with his dish, Erina fails him, having taken an immediate disliking to his nonchalant and perceived cocky attitude, and feeling that her pride would be threatened if she allowed a person of his social standing to be admitted. Later in the day, her grandfather Senzaemon, the director of the school, tastes Soma's dish and is impressed. He laughs and crumples up Soma's rejected application, implicitly overruling Erina's decision.
Episode 3: At the entrance ceremony, Soma is introduced as the only student who managed to transfer into Totsuki's high school division. He declares that he will become the top student at Totsuki, instantly earning the ire of the entire student body with his nonchalant attitude towards the school and its reputation. He is then paired up with meek girl Megumi Tadokoro, who has the worst grades among the first-years and is one E grade away from expulsion. Soma's first class consists of making Beef Bourguignon to satisfy the French teacher Roland Chapelle, known as "The Chef that Never Smiles" due to his notoriously strict grading. Megumi is determined to earn a passing grade, but encounters a setback when two other students sabotage their dish by throwing in lots of salt. Luckily, Soma is able to make the dish again, using honey to quickly tenderize the meat. The class is astonished when Chapelle smiles for the first time upon trying Soma and Megumi's dish, and proclaims that his only regret is he cannot give them a grade higher than an A. The two saboteurs, having been distracted by Chapelle smiling, accidentally burn and spill salt on their own dish, and receive a failing grade. Meanwhile, Erina is told about Soma's success in Chapelle's class and furiously vows to get him expelled.
Episode 4: Soma is sent to Polar Star Dormitory, a dormitory for students whose home is further away from the school. He is greeted by Fumio Daimidō, the caretaker, and is required to cook a dish that satisfies her in order to become a resident. Not knowing that he was supposed to bring his own ingredients, Soma nevertheless creates a mackerel burger meal using leftover ingredients in the kitchen, which impresses Fumio greatly. Now a Polar Star Dormitory resident, Soma meets the other residents: first-year Yūki Yoshino who specialises in wild game, her best friend and fellow first-year Ryōko Sakaki who specializes in fermentation and alcoholic beverages, quiet first-year Shun Ibusaki who specialises in smoked food, first-year nerd Zenji Marui who specialises in in-depth food research, bickering freshmen Daigo Aoki and Shōji Satō, neither of whom specialise in any one area of cooking but nonetheless are skilled enough to remain at the academy, enthusiastic second-year Satoshi Isshiki who specialises in traditional Japanese cuisine, as well as Megumi, who specialises in vegetable and seafood dishes. During a welcoming party, Soma is further introduced to the academy's inner workings, such as the Elite Ten, the highest decision-making body in the school other than the school director himself. This group consists of ten exceptionally talented students, with the 10th seat being Erina, and the 7th seat being Satoshi. Satoshi decides to challenge Soma to a cookoff. When he presents his peppered mackerel dish, Soma is shocked by the high quality of his cooking.
Episode 5: Soma presents his dish, mackerel onigiri chazuke using seaweed tea. Everybody is impressed, and the cookoff is declared a draw. Having his sights set on becoming a member on the Elite Ten, Soma challenges Satoshi for his spot only to find that it can only be obtained through a high-stakes cooking duel called a Shokugeki, and Soma has nothing of value to wager that is of equivalent value to a seat in the Elite Ten. Meanwhile, Erina challenges the Chanko Research Society president Kiyoshi Godabayashi to a Shokugeki for the rights to his clubroom, which she wins with ease. She then has his clubroom demolished in order to make room for a new wing for her personal cooking facilities.
Episode 6: After working in the Polar Star Dormitory's farm in the morning, Megumi helps Soma to look for a research society, the equivalent of a high school club, to join. They stumble upon the Don Research Society, which is being targeted for disbandment by Erina for her expansion project. Ikumi Mito, one of Erina's lackeys known as "The Meat Master", challenges the club president Kanichi Konishi, telling him that no matter what he cooks his dish will never beat her A5 grade meat. Soma volunteers to partake in the Shokugeki in Kanichi's place, with the challenge being to cook a donburi dish with meat as the main ingredient. The terms for the contest are that if Soma wins, the club stays with increased funding and Ikumi must join it, but if Ikumi wins, the club disbands and Soma will be expelled. In preparing for the Shokugeki, Soma makes numerous donburi dishes through research and modifies them with the realization that the club's budget is limited. Soma settles on the Chaliapin steak, while Ikumi, heir to a massive meat packaging business, contacts her family to deliver the best cut of A5 grade beef available.
Episode 7: At the Shokugeki, Ikumi wows the audience with her A5 grade beef, while Soma is mocked for using discount supermarket beef. Ikumi completes her A5 Japanese Beef Roti Don first, and the judges are extremely impressed with the taste and quality of her beef. Soon after, Soma presents his Chaliapin Steak Don to the judges, who, after initially refusing to taste it, try his dish and are unable to stop eating, resulting in a unanimous win for Soma. Soma points out that Ikumi misunderstood the concept of donburi by placing too much emphasis on the beef and not the donburi as a whole, as the judges were too full from eating the beef to finish her rich garlic rice. With Soma's victory, Ikumi has her personal kitchen taken away from her by Erina, but develops a crush on Soma after he calls her by her nickname "Nikumi" (English Dub: Sweet Meat). Ikumi joins Don RS and is immediately outraged and embarrassed to learn Soma did not join the club with her, as he had only visited Don RS to research donburi recipes to add to his restaurant's menu.
Episode 8: The first year students at Totsuki Academy go to a training camp as their first major challenge, during which about half of the first year students usually receive a failing grade and are expelled. The students are given various challenges by alumni from the school, who are brought in to serve as judges. The first challenge for Soma's group, which includes Megumi and the Aldini twins Takumi and Isami, is to make a dish that can be served at a Japanese restaurant using ingredients gathered from nature in the area surrounding the kitchen. They are judged by former Second Seat Hinako Inui. Takumi, heir to his family restaurant in Tuscany, "Trattoria Aldini", challenges Soma to a duel to see who can cook the better dish, as they both specialize in diner-style dishes. Most of the students gather fish while the Aldini twins find a duck. They are the first to complete their dish and pass the challenge.
Episode 9: Having come up with an idea for their dish, Soma takes Inui's kaki peanuts on the understanding that any ingredient found in the area can be used. Soma and Megumi gather ingredients and make the Char Okakiage dish with their remaining 15 minutes, using the peanuts as a crust for the fish. Inui expresses her satisfaction and passes Soma and Megumi, but she does not declare a winner between Takumi and Soma as she is ordered to have her group depart immediately. Takumi vowes to challenge Soma to a Shokugeki should they meet again. The students return to the hotel where they are ordered to each cook 50 servings of a steak dinner to serve to the Bodybuilding, Football and Wrestling Clubs, with the risk of immediate expulsion unless all servings are cooked within 1 hour. Soma finishes quickly and heads to the public bath where he runs into Erina, who has just finished her own bath.
Episode 10: Soma apologizes for knocking Erina over, but Erina refuses his help, thinking that she is letting her guard down. In the bath, Soma meets alumnus and Totsuki Resort head chef Gin Dojima, who is surprised to see that Soma has finished the challenge so quickly. Dojima wishes Soma good luck as Takumi Aldini enters the bath, and Aldini is shocked to see Soma having casual conversation with a legend like Dojima. The next day, Soma and Megumi are assigned the task of making the Nine Vegetable Terrine, but this time individually instead of as partners. Alumnus Kojiro Shinomiya, who will be judging the dishes, tells the students to think of each other as enemies. In the mad rush to claim the best ingredients, the unassertive Megumi is pushed aside and finds only bruised heads of cauliflower remaining by the time she reaches the table. Thinking about what Soma would do in such a situation, Megumi uses wine vinegar to preserve the color and enhance the sweetness of the cauliflower. Shinomiya passes Soma, but fails Megumi for making unauthorized changes to the recipe. Soma defends Megumi fearlessly, angering Shinomiya, who reveals that he intentionally provided a limited number of good cauliflower heads to limit the number of students who could pass. A furious Soma challenges Shinomiya to a Shokugeki to get Megumi's expulsion rescinded.
Episode 11: Shinomiya initially refuses Soma's challenge, however, Dojima and Inui overhear and pressure him into accepting the challenge. Thus, Soma and Megumi battle Shinomiya in an unofficial Shokugeki under the condition that Megumi is the lead chef as this Shokugeki is designed to prove Megumi's worthiness as a chef. While Shinomiya makes his dish, Megumi starts to panic. Soma tells her to relax and to focus on making something that's representative of herself and not on what Shinomiya is doing. Megumi begins to cook her dish, with Soma serving as her sous-chef. Shinomiya presents his dish first, the Chou farci, and the judges give overwhelming praise to the dish. However Dojima is not satisfied by the dish, as it was not one of Shinomiya's specialties. Megumi then presents her dish, the Rainbow Terrine.
Episode 12: Megumi manages to impress the judges with her Rainbow Terrine, which emphasises the maturity of vegetables. However, when it comes down to voting, all three judges vote for Shinomiya's dish based on the difference between their skill. Just then, Dojima gives his own vote towards Megumi's dish. Dojima states that Shinomiya has allowed his cooking to become stale, and that his status as a world famous chef has prevented him from developing his skills any further. This is revealed in flashbacks related to how Shinomiya's climb to fame involved making sure his dishes were made exactly to his recipe, with no tolerance for any kind of change. When Shinomiya tries Megumi's dish for himself, he understands how her dish was geared towards the needs of those eating it, and puts in his own vote for Megumi. With Inui also casting her vote for Megumi, the Shokugeki ends in a tie, with Shinomiya revoking Megumi's expulsion. As Megumi returns to her concerned friends, Soma laments what is, in his eyes, a defeat.
Rating: 8/10(Average)
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