Hayato Shinomiya
A celebrated alumnus of Tootsuki Culinary Academy, Shinomiya is one of the school's most successful graduates—he owns his own restaurant after winning a culinary medal in France. His technical skill is genuinely impressive, and both the academy and its alumni network hold him in high regard.
That said, Shinomiya's got a serious ego problem. He's known for being cold and exacting with his staff, and his narcissism makes him quick to take offense. He's been known to fire employees over criticism of his cooking philosophy or methods, which earned him plenty of fear and resentment. His clashes with Souma Yukihira and teacher Hinako Inui over food ideology made him a notable antagonist in the series, though he operates more as a stern authority figure than a traditional villain.
His Cooking
Shinomiya specializes in French cuisine with an unusual twist: instead of centering dishes around meat like most French cooking does, he focuses on vegetables as the star ingredient. He's got deep technical knowledge about produce—varieties, quality grades, preparation techniques—and uses it to create stunning vegetable dishes that are genuinely difficult to criticize on taste alone. Fans often call him the "Vegetarian Magician" for how he elevates vegetables into art.
His approach is rooted in tradition. He's a purist who believes recipes should be executed with original ingredients and methods; shortcuts or modern substitutions are basically off the table for him. It's rigid thinking, but it's also part of what makes his work so refined and consistent.
Content compiled by AnimeList.moe from publicly available sources.
