Shinomiya, Kojirou

四宮小次郎

A professional chef who graduated from Tootsuki Culinary Academy, he is regarded as one of the respected legends of both his former school and the Tootsuki Academy Alumni. He is among the few students who successfully graduated with flying colors, and he owns his very own restaurant after winning a medal in France. Despite his professional skills and glorious achievements, Shinomiya's superiority complex made him feared by many students and his employees under his supervision due to his stern discipline and narcissistic mindset, which concerned nobody but himself, except for the seniors above him. Because of his narcissistic ego, Shinomiya is extremely offended by anyone who criticizes his philosophy or even his knowledge of food (such as Souma Yukihira and Hinako Inui), and he could use employment termination as his own iron rule to make cruel remarks to defend his pride, making him Souma's antagonistic rival and the benevolent overlord in the manga series.
Shinomiya uses typical French-style cooking, and unlike most French dishes that focus on meat, Shinomiya prefers to use vegetables as the main ingredients. With his vast knowledge about vegetables, from the details of species to their class, as well as their cooking methods, Shinomiya can create the finest vegetable dishes, which are irresistible to anyone who tastes his food. However, Shinomiya's method relies rather on traditional style, where the cooking method often uses the original approach rather than alternatives, since he claimed that only the original ingredients for his recipe would have the original taste of the dish. Due to his uncanny skills in cooking, especially with vegetables, Shinomiya earned the nickname 'Vegetarian Magician' for making vegetable dishes into a piece of culinary art, from the details of vegetable selection until the method of cooking itself, until it reaches his standards to satisfy his clients.