Ajiyoshi Youichi is a culinary prodigy who manages a restaurant with his mother. One day, Murata Genjirou appears in the restaurant and is surprised at the delicious taste and delicate culinary skills of the katsu-don prepared by Youichi. Subsequently, Youichi is 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.
Characters
Hinode Eatery
Meaning "sunrise" the Hinode eatery is a local restaurant in an unnamed part of Tokyo where Ajiou Company is also based. It serves cheap, simple Japanese fare and is largely patronized by working-class people, but as Youichi defeats more and more opponents, the winning dishes are added to the menu periodically. ;Youichi Ajiyoshi ;Noriko Ajiyoshi ;Takao Ajiyoshi ;Mitsuko Yamaoka ;Shigeru Yamaoka
Ajiou Company
The Ajiou Company is the largest conglomerate of chefs and cooks in the country. While it is never directly stated what the Ajiou Group does, it can be assumed they have restaurant chains, training schools, and other products related to cooking. ;Genjirou Murata - Ajiou ;Tarou Tareme /Shintarou Tareme ;Yoshio Marui ;Motoyuki Shimonaka ;Hiroyuki Shiba ;Takeo Sekiba ;Seidou Yonemoto
The Aji Shougun Group is a less reputable company similar to Ajiou; bent on driving many of the local restaurants in Youichi's neighborhood out of business, having already forced Youichi's father to close of his former business - a traditional Japanese floating teahouse. Though they make good food, they also try to use flashy decorations or gimmicks like trailer trucks to attract more customers. Whenever one of members of this group shows up, the restaurant shop owner in danger usually comes to Youichi for help.
Other Rivals
Youichi has many one off battles over the course of the series, however; there are several chefs whom he faces multiple times and considers to be personal rivals. ;Kazuma Sakai ;Kazuya Konishi ;Hyouta Nakae ;Kohou Ryuu
