Highlights
- Cooking plays a significant role in manhwa, from military settings to fantasy worlds.
- Manhwa like Kitchen Soldier and God of Cooking incorporate game-like elements to enhance the cooking experience.
- The art style may vary, but the stories in manhwa like Lady Chef Royale and Apocalyptic Chef Awakening are engaging and diverse.
Much like in manga, cooking is quite the common theme in the manhwa community. Be it magical cooking that has superhuman effects on characters or people bonding over a home-cooked meal, the significance of food is often understated. Still, it can play a huge role in whatever story in which it is present.
Naturally, there is a huge selection of manhwa solely dedicated to food and cooking for readers who enjoy the theme. In conjunction with some of the most unconventional yet brilliant artwork ever seen, these food-based manhwa will leave readers drooling with hunger and anticipation at every turn of the page.
8 Kitchen Soldier
Rated 3.7/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: JRobin
- Illustrated by: Jinsu Lee
- Genre(s): Military, Drama, Fantasy
Contrary to what Kitchen Soldier’s colorful cover might imply, the first chapter takes place at a not-so-colorful army base, which is where the main character Kang Sung-Jae is sent. However, this is quickly rectified when the cooking aspect of this manhwa finally kicks in and Kang Sung-jae gets accustomed to cooking for the army.
In this manhwa, Kang Sung-Jae enlists in the army to support his father and improve his life. When he is put into the role of a cooking assistant, however, Sung-Jae suddenly starts seeing a video game-like interface that helps him with his duties and keeps track of how proficient he is at his new job.
7 God Of Cooking
Rated 3.7/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Yangchigi Jali
- Illustrated by: YeRang
- Genre(s): Fantasy, Slice of Life, Drama
Compared to Kitchen Soldier, God of Cooking is far more colorful in its story and visual presentation. Though the art style might not be for everyone, this manhwa makes up for it with its story and its wholesome message: that you are never too old to follow your dreams, whatever they may be.
Much like Kang Sung-Jae from Kitchen Soldier, Min-Joon Jo is also assisted by a game-like interface that gives him information about the food he comes across. In this case, however, Min-Joon is also transported to a time when he dropped out of the army to return to college, allowing him to pursue cooking at a younger age.
6 Lady Chef Royale
Rated 3.9/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Risya
- Illustrated by: Paya
- Genre(s): Fantasy, Romance, Isekai
Unlike the previous two entries, Lady Chef Royale does not include any gaming elements in its story, nor does the story itself take place in a video game. Instead, the manhwa substitutes this with isekai elements, namely by having its main character, Sena, end up in another world with complete knowledge of her previous life.
After a fatal traffic accident, Sena finds herself in another world with nothing but her cooking expertise from running a restaurant in her previous life. However, she decides to use her cooking expertise to win the trust of this new world’s inhabitants and work herself up to royalty, adopting the name Senianna Franciff in the process.
5 Apocalyptic Chef Awakening
Rated 3.9/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Jodol
- Illustrated by: Jodol
- Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama
Just like Kang Sung-Jae from Kitchen Soldier, Shin Young-Jun from Apocalyptic Chef Awakening works as a sergeant chef in the military. But very much unlike Kang Sung-Jae, Shin’s set of circumstances are far more dire due to having to deal with the onset of the apocalypse during his time in the military.
A month before Shin is discharged from the military, the onset of the apocalypse disrupts the emergency communications and the base’s connection to the outside world. To this end, Shin devotes his efforts to feeding everyone in his base and boosting the morale of his cohorts despite the danger of running out of food.
4 Rookie Chef With The Magic Touch
Rated 4/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Jiwoo Cha
- Illustrated by: Studio Inus
- Genre(s): Drama
Taking a departure from the military setting, Rookie Chef with the Magic Touch takes place in a far more sophisticated kitchen in Hotel Jewelria, the workplace of the main character, Seonghoon Kang. Unfortunately, Hotel Jewelria is considered third-rate compared to the five-star hotels in the story, which takes a toll on Seonghoon’s self-worth.
Having worked for four years at Hotel Jewelria, Seonghoon reveals that his true goal is to be acknowledged by his superior and the executive chef, Jinseok Do. However, when Seonghoon discovers his ability to see the history behind any food item, he realizes he may have a chance to advance in his career.
3 The Evil Princess Dreams Of A Gingerbread House
Rated 4/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Friedrich
- Illustrated by: Marron Pie
- Genre(s): Royalty, Drama, Supernatural
Though the artwork is similar to that of Lady Chef Royale, The Evil Princess Dreams of a Gingerbread Man features a far younger protagonist in Asya, a little girl who initially lives a happy life with her parents. However, she later finds herself reincarnated into Princess Anastasia, who is doomed to prevent the male and female leads from falling in love.
With the help of her superb baking expertise, Anastasia takes it upon herself to avoid her fate and realize her goal: to live a life surrounded by sweets. Needless to say, this manhwa is a must-read for fans of villainess and royalty manhwa, who are sure to understand and appreciate Anastasia’s simple and wholesome goal in life.
2 The Cook’s Hidden Blessing
Rated 4.1/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Chonji Kim
- Illustrated by: Gob
- Genre(s): Slice of Life, Supernatural
While many cooking manhwa (or other manhwa in general) take place in a military setting, The Cook’s Hidden Blessing subverts this by having a hospital as its main setting. Combined with a pseudo-isekai twist in the female lead’s travels to the human world, this manhwa proves to be a refreshing addition to the cooking and food genre.
Story-wise, The Cook’s Hidden Blessing is about Jungdong, a hospital cook who always has the well-being of the patients on his mind. Naturally, he adjusts his cooking to account for the patient’s health problems. It is during a patient’s cardiac emergency that Jungdong is visited by Ceres, the Goddess of the Harvest, who bestows her powers on Jungdong and asks him to help others in the human world.
1 Cooking Sorcerer
Rated 4.2/5 on Anime-Planet
- Written by: Purple Lemon
- Illustrated by: Purple Lemon
- Genre(s): Fantasy, Medieval, Romance
With gorgeous, vibrant, and colorful artwork, Cooking Sorcerer excels in its visual portrayal and presentation of both its characters and foodstuffs. As demonstrated by the series of events the main character, Yoojung Seo, finds herself in, this manhwa masterfully blends fantasy and isekai elements within a story that is capable of both drama and wit.
After falling to her death during her downtime, food-lover Yoojung Seo finds herself in the universe of her favorite web novel under the name Sylvia Arbor. From there, she meets Felix, a young man in the novel being mistreated by his stepmother, and helps him regain his sense of taste, which had been lost due to his stepmother’s abuse.
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