Chapter Summaries

After Seiya’s Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee restored Minezaki’s hope for life, she thanked him and worried about finding another job. She spotted his restaurant’s waiter recruitment flyers and asked to apply, leaving Seiya surprised by her interest.

• Minezaki ate Seiya’s Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee, remembered her mother’s care, and regained her will to live.
• Minezaki guarded the pot of porridge but eventually let Seiya have one bowl after eating most of it herself.
• Minezaki offered Seiya her bank card as payment, but Seiya refused and asked what she would do next.
• Minezaki noticed Seiya’s handwritten recruitment flyers and asked whether his restaurant was hiring waiters.
• Seiya questioned whether Minezaki, a former senior executive in real estate, really wanted to work as a waiter at his small restaurant.

Seiya offered Yaeko Minezaki a waitress job at Wenren Restaurant with a monthly salary and a share of its net income for helping manage the business. Minezaki accepted, eager for the restaurant’s meals, and revealed that she was homeless after selling her house and car to compensate her former company.

• Minezaki explained that she wanted to leave her former industry and was willing to accept a lower-paying job after being forced out of her company.
• Seiya offered Minezaki a monthly salary of one hundred thousand yen and ten percent of the restaurant’s net income if she helped manage it.
• Minezaki accepted the job, partly because the restaurant provided meals and she hoped to keep eating Seiya’s cooking.
• Seiya agreed that Minezaki could start the following month and offered meal compensation if she did not need the included food and lodging.
• Minezaki said she wanted the lodging too because she had sold her house and car to cover her former company’s losses and was now homeless.
• Seiya froze when he learned that the staff lodging he had planned for male employees would be needed by Minezaki.

Seiya hired Yaeko Minezaki to work at Wenren Restaurant and let her move into his family home, where she stayed in Kiyoei Wenren’s room. On her first morning, Minezaki began bathing just as Seiya sleepily walked into the bathroom.

• Seiya explained that the restaurant’s lodging meant sharing his room, but Minezaki said she did not mind living with him.
• Seiya arranged for Minezaki to stay in Kiyoei Wenren’s room after learning he could not afford to rent her an apartment.
• Minezaki moved in that night and examined a photograph of Seiya with his mother before falling asleep.
• Minezaki woke early, prepared to start work, and got into the bathtub in the shared bathroom.
• Seiya walked into the bathroom while Minezaki was bathing.

Seiya accidentally saw Minezaki bathing, then watched her quickly adapt to working as a waitress at Wenren Restaurant as business surged. At closing time, Soma Yukihira arrived and mistook Minezaki for someone who had come to sabotage the restaurant again.

• Seiya entered the shared bathroom without knocking and startled Minezaki, who was bathing, then apologized and suggested they arrange a bathroom schedule.
• Wenren Restaurant opened to a crowd of customers, and Yaeko Minezaki quickly settled into her new role as a waitress.
• Minezaki's presence helped the restaurant's business rise by more than twenty percent, though a full day of work left her exhausted.
• As Seiya and Minezaki closed the restaurant at six, Soma Yukihira rushed in and accused Minezaki of returning to cause trouble.
• Seiya told Soma that Minezaki now worked at the restaurant, and Soma was stunned; Seiya said he was too tired for another Food War.

Soma Yukihira invited Seiya to take the Totsuki Culinary Academy Entrance Exam with him, but Seiya chose to stay and run Wenren Restaurant until his mother returned. Yaeko Minezaki learned she would not lose her new job and explained why she had given up on becoming a chef.

• Soma Yukihira invited Seiya to attend Totsuki Culinary Academy, while Yaeko Minezaki worried the restaurant would close and leave her unemployed.
• Seiya declined because he wanted to keep the restaurant open until his mother returned and said Totsuki was not the only place to learn cooking.
• Soma Yukihira regretted that Seiya would not join him, while Minezaki felt relieved that Seiya would stay.
• Minezaki asked Seiya why he had refused Totsuki, and he reassured her that he would not leave her without work.
• Seiya asked why Minezaki had become an office worker instead of a chef, and she explained that she lacked the family background to enter Totsuki and had been denied training as a kitchen hand.

Seiya offered to teach Minezaki basic Chinese Cuisine so she could help with the restaurant, but she mistook the offer for a marriage proposal and became convinced he wanted her as his wife. The chapter ended with Minezaki bathing happily as she imagined winning Kiyoei Wenren’s approval, while Seiya waited impatiently to use the bathroom.

• Seiya asked Minezaki whether she wanted to learn cooking from him, and she mistook the offer for a proposal.
• Seiya clarified that he could teach her basic Chinese Cuisine, though his mother’s permission would be needed to pass on the family’s secret techniques.
• Minezaki eagerly agreed and asked whether she could earn Kiyoei Wenren’s approval as a direct disciple.
• After dinner, Minezaki cleaned the restaurant and went upstairs to bathe, convinced Seiya had stayed behind for her.
• Minezaki imagined that Seiya liked her and that she needed her future mother-in-law’s approval, while Seiya waited downstairs for the bathroom.

While Soma Yukihira enrolled at Totsuki Culinary Academy, Minezaki took over management of Wenren Restaurant and transformed it into a more successful business. Seiya’s workload shrank, but Minezaki remained frustrated that he showed no romantic interest in her.

• Soma Yukihira messaged Seiya that he had passed the Totsuki entrance exam after a difficult encounter with a blond-haired character.
• As Seiya’s restaurant grew busier after the neighboring Yukihira Restaurant closed, he tried raising prices and imposing arbitrary limits to reduce the workload.
• Minezaki grew fed up with Seiya’s management and took over, renovating Wenren Restaurant and dividing its menu between regular dishes she cooked and custom dishes Seiya prepared.
• Seiya accepted Minezaki’s reforms, which increased the restaurant’s revenue and left him with less work.
• Minezaki hoped Seiya would make a romantic move after they had lived together for over a month, but he remained so well-behaved that she became frustrated.

At Totsuki Culinary Academy’s opening ceremony, Soma Yukihira declared that he would surpass the students and defeat someone even stronger than himself. Senzaemon Nakiri defended Soma’s admission and warned Erina Nakiri that the mysterious young man praised in a letter might outclass them both.

• Soma Yukihira provoked the assembled students by calling Totsuki a stepping stone and declaring he would stand above them.
• Erina Nakiri questioned why Soma had passed the Entrance Exam, and Senzoemon Nakiri explained that he had approved Soma’s Tamago Kake Gohan.
• Senzoemon told Erina that Soma’s father had praised another young man’s cooking as far superior to Soma’s and said he was curious about the boy.
• Senzoemon asked whether Erina could beat Soma in an egg-dish contest, and Erina confidently claimed she could defeat him if she got serious.
• Senzoemon said Erina might draw with or slightly surpass Soma, but warned that she would not match the other young man if he came to Totsuki.
• Erina doubted her grandfather’s warning because she still believed she was the best among the ninety-second class.

Senzoemon Nakiri told Erina about Wenren Seiya, the young chef who had repeatedly defeated Soma Yukihira, and invited her to visit Seiya’s family restaurant. On the way there with Soma and Hisako, Erina and Soma argued while Soma declared that he would stand above everyone at Totsuki.

• Senzoemon Nakiri explained that Wenren Seiya had beaten Soma Yukihira and asked Erina to meet him.
• Erina agreed to visit Seiya’s family restaurant so she could judge his cooking with her God's Tongue.
• Erina and Soma began bickering when they met outside Totsuki Culinary Academy the next morning.
• Senzoemon Nakiri picked up Erina, Hisako Arato, and Soma in a sedan and asked Soma what he thought of Totsuki.
• Soma called Totsuki a stepping stone and vowed to stand above everyone, prompting Erina to insist that a transfer student could not surpass Totsuki’s internal students.

Soma Yukihira argued that years of hands-on cooking had prepared him better than Totsuki’s training, then brought Senzoemon Nakiri, Erina Nakiri, and Hisako Arato to Seiya’s crowded restaurant. He tried to enter as Seiya’s friend, but staff made him take ticket 666 and refused to let him skip the line.

• Soma Yukihira told Erina Nakiri that he and Seiya had trained in kitchens since childhood and had over ten years of practical experience.
• Senzoemon Nakiri examined Soma’s callused hands and asked how Seiya had surpassed him; Soma insisted he was only temporarily behind and praised both Seiya’s mother and his own father.
• Senzoemon and the others arrived near Seiya’s restaurant, where a huge crowd prevented their car from reaching it.
• Soma led the group through the back passage connecting Yukihira Restaurant to Seiya’s restaurant, but a server demanded that they present number tickets.
• The server gave Soma ticket 666 and said he was the eleventh person that day to claim friendship with Seiya, leaving Soma stunned as he insisted he was Seiya’s childhood friend.

Soma Yukihira brought Senzoemon Nakiri and Erina Nakiri to Seiya's restaurant, where Minezaki initially mistook them for diners trying to skip the line. After Senzoemon explained who they were and accepted the restaurant's rules, Minezaki learned he was Totsuki's headmaster and the famed Demon of Cuisine.

• Minezaki confronted Soma Yukihira at the restaurant entrance and assumed he had come to challenge Seiya to a Shokugeki.
• Soma clarified that Senzoemon Nakiri and the others had come to test Seiya's cooking, and Minezaki agreed to handle the situation.
• Senzoemon apologized for arriving without a reservation and told Erina Nakiri that they had no right to cut in line.
• Senzoemon rebuked Erina for failing to understand that they were ordinary diners at the restaurant, and she accepted his scolding.
• Hisako Arato identified Erina as a Totsuki Elite Ten member and Senzoemon as the headmaster known as the Demon of Cuisine, stunning Minezaki.

Minezaki eagerly welcomed Senzoemon Nakiri and Erina Nakiri to Wenren Restaurant, hoping Seiya's cooking would win their approval and help her earn Kiyoei Wenren's recognition. After Erina judged the restaurant's regular dishes as merely average, Minezaki led the group toward Seiya's made-to-order cooking.

• Minezaki recognized Senzoemon Nakiri and Erina Nakiri and warmly ushered them into Wenren Restaurant.
• Soma Yukihira challenged Erina to a cooking match, but she dismissed him and followed her grandfather inside.
• Minezaki asked Soma Yukihira what the Nakiris liked to eat, but he knew little about them.
• Erina inspected the diners' food and told Senzoemon Nakiri that Wenren Seiya seemed less impressive than he had claimed.
• Minezaki explained that she cooked the restaurant's regular dishes and invited the group to try Seiya's custom-made meals.

Seiya was surprised when Senzoemon Nakiri, Erina Nakiri, and Soma Yukihira arrived at Wenren Restaurant, but learned Joichiro Yukihira had recommended him to Senzoemon. Erina requested an egg-based dish, giving Seiya a chance to show the talent Joichiro had praised.

• Minezaki used her new connections to arrange the purchase of nearby plots and help expand Wenren Restaurant.
• Senzoemon Nakiri and the others arrived, and Seiya wondered why the prominent Totsuki figures had come to his restaurant.
• Soma Yukihira told Seiya he planned to defeat Totsuki’s Elite Ten Council and challenge him afterward, then denied bringing Senzoemon and Erina along.
• Senzoemon explained that Joichiro Yukihira had recommended both Soma and Seiya, calling Seiya one of the most talented chefs he had seen.
• Seiya refused to let Soma order food and invited the guests to name a theme for a custom dish.
• Erina requested a dish centered on eggs, and Seiya recognized the theme from her Totsuki Entrance Exam.

Seiya prepared Three No Stick, a Chinese egg dessert, for Erina and served it to her, Senzaemon, and Soma. Their ecstatic reactions showed how successful the dish was, while Seiya and Minezaki watched them in disbelief.

• Erina requested a custom egg dish, and Senzaemon asked Seiya to serve whatever best displayed his cooking skills.
• Seiya chose to make Three No Stick, carefully stirring egg yolks in a wok for more than ten minutes.
• Seiya served the golden, springy dessert, and Erina found that it did not stick to her chopsticks.
• Senzaemon and Soma tasted the dish and reacted with delight, while Senzaemon's collar burst open.
• Erina tasted the Three No Stick and was swept up in its flavor, as Hisako reacted similarly and Seiya and Minezaki watched.

Seiya impressed Erina and the Totsuki guests with Three No Stick, a Chinese egg dish, and Senzoemon Nakiri praised his skill. After learning that the dish was only an appetizer, the guests eagerly awaited Seiya’s next meal.

• Minezaki asked Seiya whether she reacted to his cooking like Erina and Sekiko, and he told her she behaved even more dramatically when eating his food.
• Erina and the others finished the Three No Stick, and Erina called it passable despite Seiya’s observers noticing how much she had enjoyed it.
• Soma Yukihira asked Seiya about the dish, and Senzoemon Nakiri identified it as the famous Chinese imperial dish Three No Stick.
• Seiya explained the dish’s legends and its simple ingredients: eggs, starch, and sugar water.
• Senzoemon praised Seiya and said he looked forward to his next dish, prompting Erina and the others to anticipate what Seiya would cook without ingredient restrictions.

Seiya revealed that he was the inheriting user of the Seven Star Knife and prepared to make sashimi for Senzoemon Nakiri’s party. After Erina insisted on the largest fish, Seiya stunned a giant Red Sea Bream with one blow and began preparing it.

• Seiya unfolded the Seven Star Knife and told Senzoemon Nakiri that he was its inheriting user.
• Seiya asked Minezaki to bring ice and selected a Red Sea Bream from the restaurant’s tank.
• Senzoemon and Erina demanded that Seiya use the largest fish, and Seiya agreed to take it out.
• Seiya stopped Soma Yukihira and Minezaki from helping him handle the thrashing giant Red Sea Bream.
• Seiya struck the fish once with a thick-backed cleaver from the Seven Star Knife, instantly stilling it.

Seiya stunned Erina, Soma Yukihira, and Senzaemon Nakiri by swiftly preparing a hundred-pound sea bream with the Seven Star Knife. He began making Blazing Ice Fresh Sea Bream Mountain, the sashimi dish Rene had created.

• Seiya knocked out the enormous sea bream with the Gate of Magnitude Knife, then bled it and removed its fins and tail with Literary Star and Martial Star.
• Seiya used the Greedy Wolf Knife to quickly divide the sea bream into portions according to the fat content of its flesh.
• Erina and Soma Yukihira recognized that Seiya's speed and precision came from more than his knives, and Senzaemon explained the Seven Star Knife's techniques and the need for strong fundamentals.
• Seiya selected the richest belly meat and began preparing Blazing Ice Fresh Sea Bream Mountain from the cookbook Kiyoei Wenren had left him.

Seiya prepared Blazing Ice Fresh Sea Bream Mountain with icy knife techniques and astonishingly thin slices, impressing the diners with its appearance and freshness. After everyone eagerly ate the dish, Erina, Soma Yukihira, and Minezaki fought over the final slice.

• Seiya used Glaceon's power to chill the Greedy Wolf Knife and cut translucent sea bream slices with Arhat Crystal Cut.
• Seiya arranged the slices over an ice mountain and presented Blazing Ice Fresh Sea Bream Mountain to Senzoemon Nakiri and the others.
• Soma Yukihira marveled at Seiya's knife skills and then tasted the sea bream's exceptional freshness.
• Erina experienced an vivid oceanic vision as she tasted the dish, while the group continued eating as Seiya sliced more fish.
• Erina, Soma Yukihira, and Minezaki reached for the final slice at once, and Erina challenged the others for competing with her.

After tasting Seiya's cooking, Senzoemon Nakiri personally invited him to join Totsuki Culinary Academy and offered him a path to the Elite Ten Council. Seiya declined, explaining that he wanted to pursue his own culinary path and continue running his family restaurant.

• Minezaki withdrew from the contest over the last slice of sea bream, and Seiya ate it himself.
• Senzoemon Nakiri praised Seiya's cooking and invited him to enroll at Totsuki, saying he could soon earn a seat on the Elite Ten Council.
• Erina Nakiri was surprised by Senzoemon's offer and defended Totsuki when Seiya refused it.
• Senzoemon asked Seiya why he was declining and offered to discuss any conditions.
• Seiya said he did not look down on Totsuki but wanted to keep improving his cooking and running his family restaurant.

Seiya accepted Senzoemon Nakiri’s offer to become a special student at Totsuki after learning about Dream Ingredients, while keeping the right to run his family restaurant. As his restaurant’s fame brought in influential customers, he prepared to leave for a while despite Minezaki’s objections.

• Senzoemon Nakiri explained Dream Ingredients to Seiya, who became interested in finding out more about them.
• Seiya agreed to attend Totsuki as a special student, allowing him to remain active off campus in exchange for returning for competitions and exams.
• Seiya gained access to several channels for purchasing rare ingredients but gave up eligibility for Totsuki’s Elite Ten Council.
• Minezaki told Seiya that the visit from Senzoemon Nakiri and Erina had brought reservations from powerful businesspeople and local officials.
• Seiya packed his luggage and told Minezaki he planned to leave the restaurant and turn down the custom meal reservations.