The final season of Food Wars! just wrapped up in 2020, and its fans are certainly feeling a hole in their hearts and stomachs due to its absence. Over its run, the series featured some mouth-watering food battles and introduced a cast of wild and wonderful characters.
Now that the series is officially over, fans will have to satisfy their cravings by going back and rewatching their favorite episodes. The best episodes in the series not only made fans hungry but also forced the characters to grow and overcome obstacles on their journeys to becoming great chefs.
Season 1, Episode 24: The Banquet Of Warriors (8.9/10)
The finale of the opening season is also the best episode of the series up to that point. In this episode, Akira and Soma present their dishes to the Autumn Election preliminaries judges in one of the most anticipated matchups of the competition.
Akira presents a fragrant curry that features holy basil, a notoriously tricky ingredient. Nevertheless, he highlights the full potential of his ingredients and receives a score of 94 from the judges. Soma then presents his own dish, a curry risotto omurice influenced by two of his earlier failures. He receives a score of 93, earning him second place in the preliminaries, which only fuels his desire to work even harder.
Season 2, Episode 6: Dawn Will Come Again (9.0/10)
Season 2, episode 6, "Dawn Will Come Again," pits Soma against Subaru Mimasaka, the mimic chef, in one of his best matches of the series. Subaru presents his dish to the judges, a stew garnished with smoked bacon, confident that he'll win since he believes he knows what Soma will present.
For his dish, Soma uses a number of techniques on different meats, including braising filet and cooking skirt steak on a charcoal grill. Although it appears improvised, Soma's beef stew is inspired by Chikuzen stew, and it blows the judges away. Victorious, Soma returns all of Subaru's stolen tools to their original owners except for Takumi's mezzaluna, because Takumi refuses to accept it until he can win it back himself.
Season 2, Episode 9: The Sword That Announces Fall (8.9/10)
In "The Sword That Announces Fall," the Autumn Elections come to a dramatic conclusion as Soma, Kurokiba, and Akira present their dishes to the judges. First to finish is Kurokiba, who presents a cartoccio with herb butter sealed inside film bags.
Next up, Akira serves a seared Pacific saury carpaccio seasoned with allspice. The audience is initially shocked to see him serve an antipasto, but his choice to highlight the allspice in the dish stuns the judges with its deliciousness. Finally, it's Soma's turn to present, but his salted rice bran Pacific saury rice fails to impress the judges. However, Soma has a trick up his sleeve, and the episode ends on a brilliant cliffhanger just as he is about to introduce his dish's final element.
Season 2, Episode 10: A New Jewel (9.0/10)
"A New Jewel" picks up where "The Sword That Announces Fall" leaves off, with Soma introducing the final element to his dish for the Autumn Election final, a white soup made of soy milk. The soup turns his dish into a creamy porridge, which enhances the dish's existing flavors.
However, even with this new element, Akira is still chosen as the winner of the Autumn Elections. After the competition ends, Soma meets with Joichiro and vows to find new ways to improve his cooking. The episode is worth rewatching, as it shows that even in defeat Soma refuses to give up on his dream of becoming a great chef.
Season 2, Episode 12: The Magician Returns (8.9/10)
The penultimate episode of season 2, "The Magician Returns," follows Soma as he continues his Stagiaire training at Shinomiya's new French restaurant. While Soma prides himself on his skills in the kitchen, he learns quickly that working in a fine-dining establishment is harder than it looks.
At first, Soma struggles to keep up, so he compensates by getting his prep work done early and asking the other chefs for advice on how he can improve. In a rare moment for Food Wars!, Soma truly struggles in this episode, but the way he overcomes - through hard work and humility - makes it one of the best episodes in the series.
Season 3, Episode 22: To The Final Battleground (9.0/10)
Season 3 features some great episodes, with one of the best being episode 22, "To the Final Battleground." The episode begins with Soma recruiting Satoshi, Kuga, Megishima, and Mimasaka for Team Shokugeki to determine the future of the school and things continue to escalate from there.
For his matchup, Soma must face off against Kinokuni Nene, and as luck would have it their theme is soba, Nene's specialty. Meanwhile, Satoshi faces off against the new 8th seat, Shiratsu Jurio, who spends most of their match insulting Satoshi for siding with the rebels. Fired up by these insults, Satoshi focuses on his cooking, as he is motivated to defend the honor of the Polar Star dormitory.
Season 3, Episode 24: The Basis For Strength (9.1/10)
The final episode of season three is also the highest-rated episode of the series up to that point. "The Basis for Strength" begins with Nene serving her dish to the judges. All of the judges agree that her kakiage sakura shrimp tempura is delicious and that she is truly a master of udon.
Rather than face Nene head-to-head in a battle of udon, Soma chooses to present yakisoba, using flavors that he loved as a child. Despite its simple appearance, Soma's dish wins over the judges, partially because Nene's noodles are affected by the cold temperature of the room. With Megishima and Satoshi also winning their battles, season 3 ends on a high note as the rebels sweep the first round of the Team Shokugeki.
Season 4, Episode 10: How To Build A Specialty (9.1/10)
The Team Shokugeki features some of the best cooking battles in the series, and the match between Soma and Erina versus Rindo and Tsukasa is no exception. "How to Build a Specialty" begins with Rindo and Tsukasa wowing the judges with their dishes, a mushroom mille-feuille, and a salt-crusted Sauce Chevreuil.
Knowing they have to pull out all the stops, Soma has Erina taste test his cooking before serving it to the judges. In classic fashion, he ends up treating his Pate de Campagne like a main dish rather than an appetizer. This forces Erina to step up her own game, and push herself to come up with a specialty main course that will leave the judges no choice but to choose their dishes as the winners.
Season 4, Episode 11: Song Of Hope (9.2/10)
Season 4, episode 11, "Song of Hope," captures the dramatic final moments of the Team Shokugeki. Erina rises to Soma's challenge and creates a new dish with only 10 minutes left on the clock, and in doing so turns the episode into an instant classic that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.
For her dish, Erina serves a chicken and egg rice bowl. While Azami initially refuses to eat Erina's submission, he is forced to reconsider when Rindo and Tsukasa both admit that her flavors are amazing. Erina elevates her dish by wrapping her chicken in minced squid and peanut butter, and after tasting it, Azami can't help but judge the rebels as the winners of the Team Shokugeki.
Season 5, Episode 11: The Taste Of Failure (9.2/10)
One of the highest-rated episodes in the series is also one of the last. The penultimate episode of season 5, "The Taste of Failure," features the final showdown between Soma and Asahi as each tries to impress Mana's God Tongue with a dish that includes all five of the world's great culinary traditions.
Asahi is the first to serve his dish, a French basty that incorporates shark fin, ravioli, dondurma, and Indian spices. His dish impresses all of the judges, and even Mana admits that his nasty is delicious. Soma then serves his dish, an egg-fried pilaf with dongpo pork, acqua pazza, poriyal, and mirpoix. To everyone's surprise, Soma reveals that he coated each grain of rice in oeuf mayonnaise, locking in all of his flavors perfectly. The episode ends on an epic cliffhanger, as Mana decides which dish she likes best.