Gourmet (21)

Preparation and consumption of food or drink take focus in gourmet stories and the narrative is designed to feature numerous different dishes or beverages. Characters are often chefs or food connoisseurs, and special attention is given to all steps in the cooking process, ranging from detailed descriptions of recipes to the characters' often over-the-top reactions when tasting the finished product. Gourmet should only be double-tagged with Workplace when the social interactions between multiple employees in the same work environment are equal in focus to the food/drink.

Kitchen no OhimesamaKitchen Princess

Kobayashi, MiyukiAndo, Natsumi 2024
Najika Kazami is a girl who is passionate about food, whether it comes to eating or cooking. She treasures the place she calls home, an orphanage in Hokkaido called Lavender House, as well as its owner, Hagio. But as much as Hagio and the fellow orphans love her, Najika decides to leave the orphanage to attend a special academy in Tokyo, hoping to achieve her dreams of being a pastry chef.

However, Najika has another reason for leaving for the academy. She hopes to find the boy she calls the "Flan Prince"—a boy who touched her heart with a cup of flan seven years ago. Now 13 years old, Najika finds that the spoon that he left behind with the flan shares its emblem with the school she has been accepted to—the prestigious Seika Academy.

With high hopes, Najika enters her school's beautiful campus and becomes a first-year student in Seika's junior high division. While unpopular with her fellow classmates due to her love of eating, she seems to find support from two boys who recognize her culinary talents—the popular brothers Daichi and Sora Kitazawa. Will Najika be able to find her place in the academy with her cooking, and perhaps also reunite with her Flan Prince?

[Written by Animeranku Rewrite]
Aug 3, 2004 to Sep 3, 2008 | 53 chp | Publishing

Yakitate!! Japan

Hashiguchi, Takashi 2024
Azuma Kazuma isn't terribly clever, but he's got a good heart and great skill—at baking. Since childhood, he's been on a quest to create the perfect bread to represent Japan internationally. Now, he seeks to enter the famous bakery Pantasia, in hopes of reaching his goal. But plots abound...

(Source: ANN)
Mar 18, 2002 to Jan 10, 2007 | 242 chp | Publishing

Curry naru Shokutaku

Funatsu, Kazuki 2024
Addicted to Curry begins with a young schoolgirl named Sonezaki Yui. One day she encounters what looks like a half dead man in the middle of the road. Not knowing what to do she throws some food at him (so he can at least survive) and runs away. She then returns to her home, which is also her father's Ganesha Curry restaurant. The man who Yui encountered was Koenji Makito, who knew Yui's father Souichiro and was actually looking for him. Following Yui's scent Koenji finds her and the restaurant. Yui initially thinks Koenji is going to kill her for throwing food at him, but after they talk she finds out that he knew her father. Koenji then finds out that the restaurant is going out of business and that Yui's father go on journey to improve his curry cooking techniques. To repay Yui's father for helping him out Koenji decides to team up with Yui to save the curry restaurant.

(Source: Wikipedia)
Jan 18, 2001 to Dec 13, 2012 | 534 chp | Publishing

Chuuka Ichiban!

Ogawa, Etsushi 2024
The story takes place in 19th century China during the Qing Dynasty, where the Emperor was weakened and the country was close to chaos. It is also during a fictitious era called "The Era of the Cooking Wars." It was an era in which top chefs with different cooking styles tried their best to improve their skills and to become the best chef in China. It is a country where insulting a high-grade chef or fooling around with cooking could land a person in a jail, and impersonating a top-chef is as good as usurpation of authority. Chefs compete with each other in order to gain respect and even power, but also with the risks of losing everything.

After the death of Mao's mother, Pai, who was called the 'Fairy of Cuisine,' Mao becomes a Super Chef in order to take the title as Master Chef of his mother's restaurant. However, before he takes his mother's place as Master Chef, he continues to travel China in order to learn more of the many ways of cooking, in the hopes of becoming a legendary chef, just like his mother. During his journey, he meets great friends and fierce rivals who wish to challenge him in the field of cooking.

(Source: MU)
Included one-shot:
Volume 4: King of Tower
Sep 27, 1995 to Oct 19, 1996 | 36 chp | Publishing

Tetsunabe no JanIron Wok Jan!

Saijou, Shinji 2024
Jan Akiyama, a cocky arrogant teenager wants to fulfill his grandfathers wish of defeating his arch nemesis Mutsuju Gobancho. When he arrives at the Gobancho restaurant he meets his granddaughter Kiriko Gobancho. Their rivalry is easily compared to theirs grandfathers, for Jan believes cooking is about competition and Kiriko believes cooking is about heart.

(Source: MU)
Jun 1995 to Mar 2000 | 251 chp | Publishing

Akuma to Dolce

Suzuki, Julietta 2024
Ogura Mayuri is a loner in high school, with a pendant for cooking and magic that her mother taught her. She’s already summoned a little demon familiar to help her with baking and other small chores. But when she accidentally summons a high level demon named Beaut upon spilling tea on her skirt, he allows her to make one wish that he will grant. Mayuri wishes for the stain on her skirt to disappear in exchange for candy. The demon Beaut is outraged by the simple request, but the gets distracted by the smell of sweets - Beaut’s weakness. Mayuri now uses Beaut’s weakness to bind him to her and do her bidding.

(Source: Aerandria Scans)
Apr 26, 2005 to Aug 16, 2008 | 9 chp | Publishing

Bartender

Nagatomo, KenjiJoh, Araki 2024
A genius bartender known as Ryuu Sasakura helps customers by mixing the perfect cocktail for them.
Dec 3, 2004 to Nov 4, 2009 | 167 chp | Publishing

Kodoku no Gourmet

Taniguchi, JiroKusumi, Masayuk 2024
This manga simply describes how Gorou Inogashira, the main character, chooses and takes a meal. Unlike other gourmet manga, Gorou likes to eat at cheap restaurants and no trivia on cuisine is given. The authors are trying to depict the essentials of the act of "eating" by Gorou's monologue, which comprises most of the lines of this manga.
Jun 1994 to May 12, 2015 | 31 chp | Publishing

Natsuko no Sake

Oze, Akira 2024
Natsuko who was a copywriter starts to cultivate rice called Tatsunishiki which is a phantom kind and it is very difficult to grow. She does it to make her dead brother's dream come true. His dream was to make the best sake in Japan. There occur many difficulties to Natsuko.

(Source: jdorama.com)
Dec 1988 to Apr 1991 | 131 chp | Publishing

Sommelier

Kaitani, ShinobuJoh, Araki 2024
The story of Joe Satake, a very talented Japanese sommelier living in France.
Jan 1996 to Apr 1999 | 72 chp | Publishing

Toriko

Shimabukuro, Mitsutoshi 2024
In a world where the taste and texture of food are an extremely important part of life, a man with superhuman skills is regularly hired by restaurants and the rich as a hunter of precious foods. With the "help" of his timid accomplice, inspired by Toriko's greatness to accompany him, he travels to capture the evasive and ferocious animals he needs to create the ultimate dinner course.

[Written by Animeranku Rewrite]
May 19, 2008 to Nov 21, 2016 | 396 chp | Publishing

Kami no ShizukuThe Drops of God

Kibayashi, ShinOkimoto, Shuu 2024
Shizuku Kanzaki is the only son of world-renowned wine critic Yutaka Kanzaki. From a young age, Shizuku has been subjected to strange education from his father all for the sake of wine. From learning to gracefully decant a drink to intently remembering the smell of leather belts and pencils, the training causes him to grow resentful of everything related to wine. Discontent with his father, he leaves home to become an average sales representative for a beer company, refusing to ever touch wine again.

When his father suddenly passes away, Shizuku finds himself being dragged back into the world he hates so much. As part of his father's will, the one who will inherit his prized wine collection and estate will go to the person who can correctly identify the "12 Apostles" of wines as well as the legendary "Drops of God." In order to inherit the assets, Shizuku has one year to complete the task, but he finds the proposition ridiculous when he is the only living relative of Yutaka.

What Yutaka failed to tell his son before his death was that he had adopted Issei Tomine into the family a week prior to his passing. Issei is a famous veteran wine critic competing against Shizuku to claim the estate for himself. With no formal training in wine tasting, Shizuku stands no chance against "The Prince of Wine" and is at risk of losing everything in this competition. Will he be able to correctly identify the elusive "Drops of God" before he runs out of time?

[Written by Animeranku Rewrite]
Nov 18, 2004 to Jun 12, 2014 | 439 chp | Publishing

Kinou Nani Tabeta?What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Yoshinaga, Fumi 2024
Shirou Kakei, a straitlaced lawyer, cooks gourmet dinners for himself and his longtime gay lover, Kenji Yabuki, a carefree, hippie-ish hairdresser. The story is told through the lens of dinner preparation.

(Source: Entropy)
Feb 22, 2007 to ? | chp | Publishing

Mixed VegetablesMixed Vegetable

Komura, Ayumi 2024
Ever since she watched a sushi chef prepare fish with artistry and elegance, Hanayu Ashitaba has aspired to become one herself. However, as the daughter of a pâtissièr who is expected to inherit her father's business, her dream remains far out of reach. Nonetheless, Hanayu continues to persevere in hopes of finding a way to realize her goals. That is until she crosses paths with her classmate, Hayato Hyuuga.

The son of a sushi chef, Hyuuga is also destined to take over his father's business, but he is disinterested in doing so. Seeing this as an opportunity to marry into a sushi chef family, Hanayu begins devising a scheme to make Hyuuga fall in love with her. These efforts are quickly wasted when Hyuuga asks her out directly, stunning Hanayu while also making her second-guess using him as a means to an end. At the same time, Hyuuga seems to have a hidden agenda too—but what could it possibly be?

[Written by Animeranku Rewrite]
Oct 25, 2005 to Nov 22, 2007 | 54 chp | Publishing

OishinboOishinbo: À la Carte

Kariya, TetsuHanasaki, Akira 2024
Around the offices of Tozai News, Shiro Yamaoka has a reputation for being over-blunt, under-ambitious, and generally an all-around slacker. So why has he been given the important job of coming up with the "Ultimate Menu" to celebrate the newspaper's 100th anniversary? Because he possesses qualities his other colleagues don't: an exquisitely discerning palate, an encyclopedic knowledge of food and drink, and a masterful touch in the kitchen.

(Source: VIZ Media)
Sep 30, 1983 to May 19, 2014 | 1039 chp | Publishing

Mr Ajikko

Terasawa, Daisuke 2024
Ajiyoshi Yoichi is a culinary prodigy who manages the eating house together with his mother. One day, Murata Genjirou appears in the eating house and is surprised at the delicious taste and delicate culinary skills of the katsudon prepared by Youichi. Subsequently, Youichi is being invited to the Ajiou Building in which he is involved in a spaghetti match with the in-house Italian chef, Marui. Youichi's novel culinary ideas, coupled with his enthusiasm of serving the best for his guests, allow him to defeat Marui in the match. From then on, Youichi begins to compete with other rivals in the race for the best tastes and dishes.

(Source: ANN)
Sep 3, 1986 to Dec 27, 1989 | 167 chp | Publishing

Yume-iro Pâtissière

Matsumoto, Natsumi 2024
Ichigo Amano adores cakes, and she dreams of sharing her passion with others one day. While stuffing her face at a sweets festival, Ichigo stumbles across a cake that reminds her of a pastry from her past. This intrigues Henri Lucas—the pâtissièr that made the cake. Impressed by her astute sense of taste, he implores Ichigo to enroll at St. Marie Academy, where they train the next generation of pâtissières in all aspects of creating confections.

On her first day as a transfer student, Ichigo prays for her success in front of a "Queen of Sweets Spirits" statue on campus. She is later placed in a group with the school's legendary "Sweets Princes"—three boys at the top of her class, each specializing in a different confectionary discipline. Struggling to keep up with the course material, she faces scrutiny from her classmates for being an amateur despite the praise she received from Henri. Upset that her skills pale in comparison to those of her talented team members, Ichigo vows to use her every waking hour to practice.

Seeing her conviction, a Sweets Spirit named Vanilla answers her wishes and coaches Ichigo through the basics of baking amazing cakes. Vanilla aspires to become one of the Sweets Kingdom's "Royal Pâtissières," but she must first prove her abilities by aiding a human. Using her magic, Vanilla helps elevate Ichigo's techniques and confections to the next level as the two work towards becoming top pâtissières.

[Written by Animeranku Rewrite]
Included one-shot:
Volume 1: Beautiful Dreamer
Sep 3, 2008 to Aug 22, 2013 | 59 chp | Publishing

Oishii Kankei

Makimura, Satoru 2024
Fujiwara Momoe is the daughter of a rich family. She has never had any worries, had an easy and luxurious life. She loves good cooking. Her carefree life ends when her father dies from a heart attack. She now has to take care for herself and her mother and this involves also cooking the meals. Unfortunately, she never had to cook, so her cooking is awful. She starts working at a French restaurant where she becomes a cook under the chef. She falls in love with the chef, but he only considers her as an apprentice.

(Source: PRISMS)
Jan 8, 1993 to Nov 8, 1999 | 71 chp | Publishing

Bambino!

Sekiya, Tetsuji 2024
Shogo Ban, a college student from Fukuoka, likes to cook. Thanks to the owner of the restaurant where he works part-time, he finds himself working at the line of Roppongi's best Italian restaurant, Trattoria Baccanale, and discovers that the real deal isn't quite as easy as he'd thought. The manga follows Ban as he struggles to keep up with the hectic workload and his co-workers, along with issues outside the kitchen like his relationship with his girlfriend Eri, who he left behind in Fukuoka.

(Source: MU)
Dec 6, 2004 to Feb 23, 2009 | 164 chp | Publishing

Tetsunabe no Jan! R: Choujou Sakusen

Saijou, Shinji 2024
Nov 9, 2006 to Nov 27, 2008 | 91 chp | Publishing

Shinya Shokudou

Abe, Yarou 2024
A manga that revolves around an old-fashioned all-night food stall, the various dishes that the stall owner prepares to suit the tastes of different customers, and the joys, griefs, trials and tribulations of his faithful patrons.

(Source: MU)
Oct 12, 2006 to ? | chp | Publishing