Megumi Tadokoro first comes off as an overly shy girl who wouldn’t do that well compared to some of the other students of Totsuki Saryo Culinary Institute, but over the course of the next few seasons of Shokugeki no Souma, Megumi shows her talents and becomes a truly impressive chef.

Thanks to her aptitude for using fresh vegetables and putting her heart—and home skills—into every meal, Megumi quickly shows she isn’t to be dismissed for her demeanor. Megumi even makes one of the hardest dishes—Goosefish Dobu-Jiru Curry—which is considered quite impressive at the Autumn Election! Megumi now is rank 10 in the Elite Ten—fitting for her rank on our list—and has already begun to hone her skills beyond what she ever thought was possible!

Easily one of the more attractive chefs from Shokugeki no Souma—and most well-endowed of the cast—Ikumi Mito was once an enemy turned ally to Soma but that’s to be expected of a powerful chef.

Known as the Meat Master—which can be a bit strange to say outloud—Mito knows her way around a steak like no one else. Mito has crafted some amazing A5 ranked dishes but one of our personal favorites was the 15 Japanese Beef Roti Don that she crafted to defeat Soma. This rich beef and rice dish still makes our mouths water and while she did lose to Soma using this dish, the battle was quite close. Mito still has a lot to learn about cooking but as of now, she’s a meat master that can truly cook any slice of beef with relative ease.

Stoic Ryo Kurokiba almost always looks like he’s ready to take a long nap. However, those who know of his true nature also know that Ryo is no slouch in the kitchen. When Ryo dons his iconic red with fire emblazed swimmer’s cap, Ryo changes into the Mad Dog a chef that almost looks ready for a street fight!

Ryo’s talents come from his upbringing around fishermen and various seafood themed dishes. Ryo is easily one of the best at cooking sea-based meals as evident by even making ramen into a seafood delight—Soupe De Poisson Ramen! If you ever run into a gloomy stoic chef remember that behind that façade might lie a chef ready to turn the kitchen into a warzone!

Italian chef Takumi Aldini and his brother—Isami—prove that food transcends all barriers! Like many other chefs, Takumi was originally a rival to Soma and those who he felt were beneath his skills. As the series progressed, Takumi realized that despite Soma’s occasionally odd personality, the skills a chef needs far outweighed his annoying mannerisms. Takumi has made several stellar dishes that have proven his skills time after time but our favorite is the incredibly intriguing Doppio Mezzaluna Pizza which makes us wish we could order delivery from Takumi! Similar to Megumi, Takumi has made his way to the 7th seat of the Elite Ten and we feel he has earned that right!

The world of Shokugeki no Souma has a strange cast of characters—as evident from our list—but easily one of the most bizarre is the copycat-like chef known as Subaru Mimasaka. More akin to a walking tank than a chef, Subaru looks like he should fight in a pro wrestling ring more than cook delicious meals. Despite his looks, Subaru excels at something very few chefs can do…mirror other chef’s creations to the letter! Using a mixture of stalking and analysis—though heavy on the stalking—Subaru copies his rival chef to the letter in both their cooking abilities and styles.

Despite his creepy—but powerful—ability, Subaru is an amazing chef as evident of his dishes like the Ten Pieces of Tuna Ruby Orbs Sushi With Gunkan Maki or Beef Stew with Bacon Garnish. Subaru…we’d love you more if you weren’t such a stalking odd ball but we will admit your dishes look incredible.

Any chef will tell you that you can have the best ingredients and best skills but if you can’t use spices…your dish will just look beautiful but taste bland. That’s why Akira Hayama makes our fifth spot of our top 10 chef list. Originally in the second-lowest spot on the Elite Ten’s list, Akira still was a challenge for Soma due in large part to his ability to uses spices unlike any other.

Akira made a laundry list of various dishes in Shokugeki no Souma but our favorite is the Fried Bear which seems like a truly challenging dish to make! Akira has proven his talents to Soma and his allies/enemies on numerous occasions propelling himself to the 4th seat of the Elite Ten. Now let’s hope one day we master our spice racks so we can make even the blandest looking dish taste incredible.

Easily one of the most attractive females from the Shokugeki no Soma franchise, Rindo Kobayashi didn’t just make our list using her beauty. Rindo is probably one of the flirtiest female chefs of our list but that flirtatious personality hides a dangerous chef with truly remarkable skills!

Unlike most of the characters of Shokugeki no Souma Rindo can use knives as if she was a master swordswoman! Rindo uses these knife skills to create exotic dishes using exotic creatures such as alligator and spear squid. In our opinions, Rindo’s most delicious looking dish is her Laziji Caiman—using alligator instead of chicken—which looks spicy but truly mouthwatering. We just pray Rindo keeps using her knives in the kitchen only and not on any guys that might make the wrong moves on her…

With a criminal upbringing, Asahi Nakiri—stepbrother to Erina—is no slouch in the cooking game. Using his signature Cross Knives style, Asahi has battled numerous chefs and once he wins he takes their knives to add to his large collection.

While Asahi Nakiri has only really become more relevant in the final season of Shokugeki no Souma, he earned his third spot on our list as he is the only one who has defeated the legendary chef—and father to our main man Soma—Joichiro Yukihira. One of the few dishes we’ve seen made by Asahi was his Tonkatsu with Crème Chantilly that proved his talents aren’t to be kept hidden from the world. Asahi has definitely had a tough and dangerous life but as a chef he has changed his fate and made his future a bright one!

Shokugeki no Souma’s main star Soma Yukiria has always been destined to be one of the best chefs of the series. Despite his humble upbringing of making ramen dishes and strange—sometimes inedible—creations, Soma has grown exceptionally through the story by learning from various other chefs and absorbing their teachings. Soma has won—and lost—several dozen times through the series but each battle has increased his abilities to the point that he has gained one of the coveted seats of the Elite Ten despite his skills being tested to their limits!

Soma has created possibly some of the most dishes in all of Shookugeki no Souma but one of his earliest creations—the Roast Pork, Just Kidding—is still the best looking in our minds. Soma is a goofball when he’s not cooking but once that white headband gets placed on his headband, the goofy Soma becomes a chef with no limits!

Known far and wide, Soma’s father Joichiro Yukihira is hands down the best chef of the Shokugeki no Souma franchise. Joichiro has never lost an official Shokugeki and his talents seem to be known to every chef worldwide! Due to his serious travels worldwide, Joichiro was able to harness numerous styles across the world and that led him to obtain skills far beyond the capacity of others.

Joichiro even has his own small ramen shop that sells incredibly beloved ramen that occasionally is run by Soma. Of the dishes we’ve seen Joichiro make our personal favorite is his special Rich Ramen that just looks so gorgeous! Joichiro might not win father of the year award for his odd parenting but we still love him as a chef and feel he is second to none!