10 More Cooking-Themed Shows!
Food Wars won’t be everyone’s cup of tea due to its strange fan service. Nevertheless, it’s a show with great drama, tension, and incredible cook-offs that’ll get you pumped with each follow-up season. It follows Soma, a boy who enrolls in a prestigious cooking school to become a master cook. This will allow Soma to inherit his father’s diner. Soma will meet many phenomenal and quirky chefs along the way, some being more fierce and skilled than the rest.
Fear not if you’re having trouble finding anime similar to Food Wars! We’ve discovered 10 alternate shows that’ll give you a similar experience as Food Wars.
Additionally, for each anime we’ve reviewed, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet your appetite when you’ve finished streaming Food Wars!
Restaurant To Another World
Similarities – Cooking
Need a less competitive and more easygoing cooking anime in your life, Restaurant To Another World is what you’ve been looking for. This anime offers a unique premise where at the end of each week, this mysterious restaurant turns into a portal for fantasy creatures and warriors to walk through and visit it. Like Food Wars, this anime isn’t afraid to make its food look appealing and desirable.
It’s best to watch this anime with a full stomach because the food will make your stomach growl faster than you can count. This anime has some fanservice like Food Wars, but nothing too extreme where it ruins your immersion. Furthermore, the customers who enter this restaurant have interesting tales to share and many will find them compelling and relaxing to listen to.
Don’t expect any intense cooking competitions to take place in Restaurant To Another World though. This is more for fans who want a laid-back anime to watch that doesn’t require much thinking. Give this a watch if that sounds up your alley.
Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd Skill
Similarities – MouthWatering Visuals & Cooking
As soon as this anime was released in 2023, many thought it was the isekai version of Food Wars. While it doesn’t offer any intense cooking competitions or immense fanservice, it does feature a likable cast who go on fun fantastical adventures together. It follows Mukoda, a boy who gets teleported to a fantasy world and gets belittled for his weak Online Grocery skill.
Despite his qualms, Mukoda bumps into a mystical Fenrir named Fel and a sentient slime named Sui who’ll make his life better. Unlike Food Wars, this is a laidback anime that focuses on the bond between Sui, Fel, and Mukoda. While it has its action-centric moments that’ll get you pumped, it doesn’t lean into it as much as it should. This anime’s more focused on its cast’s wholesome antics.
This is emphasized by how incredible-looking Mukoda’s food looks. You’ll question how everything tastes despite the bizarre ingredients Mukoda puts into his meals. Therefore, if you’re looking for a cooking-themed anime that lacks depth but showers you with pleasant imagery, check out Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill.
Classroom of the Elite
Similarities – Characters & Competiton
If you enjoyed Food Wars for its competitive aspects, Classroom of the Elite will satisfy you. It follows Ayanokouji, a student at an esteemed school who must compete with others through academic and social activities to advance the ranks. This is similar to Soma’s journey in Food Wars since he’ll compete in Shokugekis (cooking duels) to prove his culinary expertise and rise through the ranks.
Ayanokouji and his classmates will do whatever it takes to reach their goals. You’ll be shocked by how intelligent and strategic he and his classmates can be in this anime. At the same time, Soma and Ayanokouji have that underdog persona despite being skilled at their respective crafts. Many people underestimate the two until they demonstrate their potential in front of them.
That said, character development is at an all-time high in both anime. You’ll learn of many characters’ past lives, weaknesses, and strengths gradually in both series. This allows viewers to connect with our cast on personal levels and adds depth to each story’s plot. If you’re looking for something with less cooking and more mind games, check out Classroom of the Elite.
Isekai Izakaya: Japanese Food From Another World
Similarities – Cooking
For those after another cooking anime with great insight into fancy cuisines, Isekai Izakaya: Japanese Food From Another World will impress you. This anime is a gateway for viewers to attain information and an appreciation for Japanese culture and food. This is one of those tales you’ll need to watch with an open mind though. It takes place in a fantasy land and examines two people’s daily lives.
They’re named Nobuyuki and Shinobu. The former is a chef while the latter is his waitress. Their restaurant holds a doorway through which fantasy begins to enter through, leading to many fun interactions between our protagonists and their customers. Unlike Food Wars, each episode is formulaic with customers visiting Nobuyuki’s restaurant, loving his food, and sharing something about their life.
While it’s not as thrilling as Food Wars, the customers’ tales feel genuine enough to warrant your attention. Some will remind you of the times when you visited a new diner or restaurant and chatted with its staff. On top of having mouthwatering food and a relaxing atmosphere like Food Wars does at certain moments in its plot, Isekai Izakaya is a great cooking anime that’s worth checking out.
No-Rin
Similarities – Mouth-Watering Visuals & Comedy
No-Rin is another anime with a passionate protagonist. It follows Kousaka, a heartbroken fan who is upset because his favorite idol Yuka retired. After a friend persuades him to attend a new school, he accepts and learns Yuka is attending the same school under the alias Ringo. We examine Kousaka’s attempts to win Ringo over and learn why she left her idol career behind.
Despite having a farming focus, both anime feature celebrities in their world taking part in cooking activities. For No-Rin, Ringo is a former idol but moves to the countryside to become a farmer. She’ll learn how to harvest crops, care for livestock, and whip up fabulous dishes. In Food Wars, Soma will meet many prominent chefs and culinary personalities throughout his series.
The meals in No-Rin can look just as mouthwatering as the food Soma and his classmates whip up in Food Wars. Furthermore, both anime have their share of comedic jokes, gags, and facial reactions that’ll make people laugh and smile. If you’re after an anime that delves into farming and cooking, check out No-Rin.
Cooking Master Boy
Similarities – Characters & Cooking
Despite taking place in a different setting, Cooking Master Boy is an incredible anime that shares multiple similarities with Food Wars. It’s about Mao, a boy who wants to become a Super Chef as an oath to his deceased mother. Like Soma, Mao must overcome multiple personal hurdles and defeat many formidable cooks to become a professional cook.
This anime excellently highlights why cooking should be treated as an art form. Mao likes to cook food for nourishment reasons and as a way to express his creativity like Soma does in Food Wars. They hope by eating their meals, their future customers will grow emotionally attached to their meals and unlock dormant and lovable memories from their past lives.
Mao undergoes wonderful development throughout Cooking Master Boy. Those who adored seeing Soma develop new cooking techniques, ingredients, and recipes, will love seeing Mao undergo a similar path during his adventures through China. If you’re after another touching and fun cooking series, Cooking Master Boy is worth watching.
Gourmet Girl Grafitti
Similarities – Characters & Cooking
Gourmet Girl Graffiti feels like the “moe” version of Food Wars. It essentially follows your usual endeavors with the “cute girls doing things” subgenre of anime but overlays it with an appreciation for cooking. With its mouth-watering visuals, fun characters, and easy-to-follow narrative, you’re in for a delicious treat with Gourmet Girl Grafitti.
In it, we follow Ryou. She’s a cooking prodigy with a past rooted in tragedy. While her meals look delicious they don’t taste great. However, when her cousin Kirin enters her life, Ryou realizes that love and passion were the missing ingredients she needed to make her dishes taste amazing. Both anime showcase the extensive process of food preparation and the artistry behind plating.
Furthermore, the dishes created in both anime wreak creativity. Both anime have their characters’ prepare meals from multiple regions to help viewers learn of the different meals they could try creating for friends and family at home. Finally, Gourmet Girl Grafitti and Food Wars demonstrate how food can help bring families together.
Yakitate!! Japan
Similarities – Characters, Cooking, Comedy
If you’re a fan of meals that feature bread, then Yakitate!! Japan is the anime for you. This anime’s comedic, charming, and informative. It follows an aspiring breadmaker named Azuma. He sets out to create the greatest form of bread to convince his family and Japan of its value. While the premise sounds goofy, viewers will grow to adore Azuma’s passion and love for this article on food.
Like Soma, Azuma will find himself competing against many cooks in intense cook-offs. The anime knows how to make each battle feel intense and fun to follow. The meals he and his fellow chefs whip up are mouthwatering. It’ll be best if viewers eat before they watch this anime as they’ll be drawn in by the anime’s rich details. Azuma’s growth throughout Yakitate!! Japan is marvelous.
You’ll enjoy seeing him whip up new recipes with bread and flaunt his successes at his adversaries. Although this anime offers a unique supernatural spin that makes matters feel a tad unrealistic, viewers will enjoy this anime for its appreciation for cooking and its wholesome and inspiring protagonist.
Oishinbo
Similarities – Cooking & Characters
Oioshinbo is an old, but noteworthy drama series about cooking. It was once mentioned on an episode of Iron Chef. After watching this 136-episode anime you’ll realize why many feel it’s an underlooked gem. It follows Shiro, a person who’s regarded as an under-ambitious slacker by his peers. Shiro happens to be a great food critic who wants to prove he’s better at gourmet than his father.
After watching a few episodes, you’ll understand how this anime paved the way for works like Food Wars, Gourmet Girl Grafitti, and others on this list. Like Food Wars, this anime showcases a strong passion for food and highlights the intricate process behind food presentation, preparation, and the cultural significance of different dishes.
Shiro is the type of critic who’ll inspire people to look at food from multiple angles. You’ll adore seeing him compliment and critique dishes throughout this episodic series. Unfortunately, some episodes haven’t been translated with proper subtitles. However, if you’re okay with sitting through an old cooking-themed anime with great characters and visually stunning dishes, check this out.
Toriko
Similarities – Cooking & Competition
Toriko is the action-packed and adventurous version of Food Wars. This anime offers a fun story, a bizarrely unique world, and a cast of food enthusiasts who’ll appeal to many fans. It follows the Gourmet Hunter Toriko and his skilled-chef friend Komatsu as they embark on a quest to complete Toriko’s dream menu. Like Food Wars, Toriko places special emphasis on food.
It highlights its preparation and the significance behind diverse culinary traditions. Toriko comes off as a passionate food lover like Soma as he has a great appreciation for the artistry and creativity that goes into making delightful meals with it. Toriko features some delightful culinary competitions that will entertain those who adored Food Wars’ Shokugeki battles.
Every battle feels intense and offers enough twists to keep viewers on their toes. One of the main differences between the two would be their worlds. Toriko feels more fantastical with its characters having supernatural powers and the world’s landscapes being made of food. You’ll witness rivers full of whipped cream and trees carrying snacks you wouldn’t expect. If you’re okay with that, then I’d recommend giving Toriko a shot.
So there we have it, our 10 anime/TV show alternatives to watch when you’ve caught up with Food Wars!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!