Can you imagine a world where chocolate is illegal? All your favorite shops would not exist! This is a personal tragedy for Smudger, whose father used to own a pastry shop. But wait, maybe chocolate still survives in some form in a hidden place? Discover if Smudger and his friend Huntley are able to bring back sweetness to the world!

This anime is perfect for those who are less interested in the cooking process but like suspense and political intrigue. Don’t worry, because there is enough chocolate for your eyes. Add some mecha and you have an action packed anime with enough happy moments where sharing chocolate is a symbol of warmth and care. The main duo of characters and their allies are dears ^^

Many businesses in Japan are run by family members, and it is desired (although not extremely inforced) that the next generation will take over the parents’ job. This is exactly the case of Kokonotsu “Coconuts” Shikada, who has his otaku head full of dreams of becoming a mangaka. Unfortunately for him, he has talent in the family business, the Dagashi sweet shop. Even more unfortunate is that his father makes an agreement with Hotaru Shidare, the heiress of a sweets corporation. If she manages to convince Kokonotsu to run the family business, his father will go back to work for the Shidare.

Corporate cold blood aside, Dagashi Kashi is a hilarious anime with some ecchi content. Be warned that if you feel too tempted by snacks, this anime will leave you craving for them! However, its strong point is the eccentric personalities of the main characters, whose over the top reactions will make you laugh hard. There is room for a few soft moments, so if you are into comedic anime and food, Dagashi Kashi might be what you are looking for.

Tachibana quits his job to open a bakery along a genius patissiere called Ono. They are joined by the apprentice and ex boxer Kanda, and the waiter and Tachibana’s bodyguard, Kobayakawa. While the bakery becomes an instant success, the four men will have to face their past failures and traumas. Daily life is particularly uncomfortable for Ono, who confessed to Tachibana while they were in high school.

This anime is for more adult tastes, and not only because we enjoy a more detailed description of western cakes, pastries and desserts. It is not even due to the refined and tranquil environment in the bakery. There is a huge amount of drama in the characters’ lives, sometimes spiced up with jokes and funny situations. All in all, Seiyou Kottou Yougashiten is definitely the type of cooking/food anime to help you relax surrounded by handsome men.

Let us leave Japan for a while, shall we? Anime about food should also show us what other countries have to offer. And what is better than the cradle of the slow food movement? In Ristorante Paradiso, we travel to a restaurant called Casetta dell’Orso in Rome. Here, the most capable male staff ever will serve their customers, while we find out about their interesting personal lives.

Ristorante Paradiso is very similar to Antique Bakery, so they are popular for almost the same reasons. This means that we have a varied and handsome male cast, delicious food meticulously prepared and some drama. From the protagonist’s point of view (Nicoletta), life is different and fun in such a relaxed place. We should also mention that the animation technique in Ristorante Paradiso is special, as the backgrounds ressemble watercolor paints.

If you are careful enough, you will be able to find the Western Restaurant Nekoya in the busy streets of Tokyo. This place is super famous for its delicious Western and Japanese cuisine. However, this fame extends beyond Earth. Every Saturday, Nekoya opens its doors to inhabitants of other worlds who also enjoy the Master’s great cooking.

Isekai Shokudou is a masterfully animated piece where every single environment is a thing of beauty. Just imagine how food looks if the animators were so careful about other details! One of Isekai Shokudou’s original points is to experience food from the point of view of customers who interact with them for the first time. There is also a message of being inclusive, as no fight or difference will get on the way of everyone enjoying their food together in this place.

Since the faithful day when Azuma Kazuma tried bread for the first time, he became so fascinated by it that his dream is to create the ultimate Japanese bread: the Ja-pan. For the sake of his dream, Azuma foregoes the examination to enter the most impressive bakery chain store, called Pantasia. Throughout his adventures, we will see Azuma conquering friends, enemies and bread techniques. He will also face showdowns against the most powerful bakers in the world.

This is the anime that started the food trend. If you ever wanted to see exactly how bread is made, you just have to follow Yakitate Japan’s episodes. Of course, as the show progresses, the battles and comical moments are more frequent. However, Yakitate Japan is in essence a rendition to one of the most prevalent foods in everyone’s tables, and one that will leave you wanting more!

Ichigo Amano loves to eat anything sweet that crosses her way. When her taste ability is acknowledged, she is invited to go to St. Marie Academy because she has potential to become a patissiere. Here, Ichigo teams up with the three most impressive students: Makoto Kashino, Satsuki Hanabusa and Sennosuke Andou. However, there is something magical about St. Marie Academy that gives extra sweetness to everything its most talented alumni produce...

If you are into sweets and stories with fairies, look no more! Yumeiro Patissiere is the food/cooking anime you have to watch. Careful preparations, attention to the customers and hard tests for the students await! However, what distinguishes Yumeiro Patissiere is its distinctive shoujo romance flavour.

Single parents are a common sight in today’s world. One of their most important challenge is to make sure their children eat properly, which, in the case of math professor Kouhei Inuzuka, truly is a problem out his normal scope because he sucks at cooking. His daughter Tsumugi is tired of convenience store lunches, so Kouhei accepts an offer from his student Kotori Iida to have dinner at her family’s restaurant. Every night, the three will prepare and eat the food together.

Although the preparations of food are truly mouthwatering in Amaama to Inazuma, what conquered our otaku hearts was the story. Tsumugi is an adorable girl, and it is simply heartbreaking to see her eating alone and watching T.V., while her father works, works and works. Kotori Iida also suffers from loneliness, but uses her talent in the kitchen to bring the other two to the cooking side. Amaama to Inazuma reminds us that the best part of cooking is to share!

Souta Tawara is a web designer who works in Tokyo. When he decides to go to his hometown in Kagawa, the family owned udon restaurant takes him back to his childhood memories. Souta also finds a tiny boy who he later discovers is the legendary tanuki of Kagawa. Therefore, he decides to keep the boy and name him Poko.

Cities can be unmerciful places full of speed. When Souta goes back to Kagawa, this is a magnificent opportunity to show us the udon cradle. Delicious food, a slow pace of life… what else can a food lover wish? Oh, right, it also helps that Poko is a lovely tanuki. His relationship with Souta will make you shed at least a couple of tears.

Finally, the ultimate cooking/food anime is the story of Souma Yukihira! He has helped in his father’s restaurant since his childhood, but the restaurant is closed down to push Souma to test his abilities elsewhere. Therefore, our hero enrolls at Tootsuki Culinary Academy, where Souma will struggle to become the best among the best. This school is famous for its Shokugeki (Food Wars), where Souma will face all sorts of stronger and stronger rivals.

Souma conquered otaku hearts because it has all the action that cooking apparently does not have. The animation in later years has also improved enough to render hyper realistic ingredients and food for this anime. It also helps that there is ecchi content there… Overall, Shokugeki no Souma offers a good balance between the secrets behind delicious food and a fast pace that keeps you wanting more of Souma’s adventures. No wonder this anime has several seasons.

Rolling in at number ten on our list of Food/Cooking Anime is a Korean anime that released in the fall season of 2005. This wonderful story revolves around the life of Jang Geum and her passion for cooking. Jang Geum’s dream was to become a palace chef, but she met with numerous hurdles along the way. Jang Geum has to pass all of the tests to become a refined chef while in fierce competition with her rival. No matter what, Jang Geum always managed to impress everyone with her exceptional creativity, determination, and zest. You can’t help but cheer for her as she always strives for the best and makes sure to do things the right way, and her way.

One fantastic example is in episode two when Jang Geum decides to create a very simle rice dish which goes very well for her in the beginning. Rice is very delicate and must be prepared with the right amount of attention, and Jang Geum had it all completely. Suddenly an accident occurs which puts her behind the rest of the competitors, leaving her with very little time to work with. In the end, the judges try her rice dish and are very impressed by it, despite her not having much time to prepare it. We feel this show is deserving of the tenth spot because it tells a wonderful story of passion with a touch of warmth to provide meals that not only serve the hungry stomach, but to fill our empty souls.

Food will always be the gateway to our souls because of how much variety is out there to choose from. This brings us to the next entry on our list of Food/Cooking Anime. Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie makes its appearance as our number nine. Seeking to pursue a career in pastry making, Sayuri decides to enroll into an elite confecitonery academy that's surrounded by many handsome men in uniform. They all aspire to be chefs much like herself and to her amazement, can create some fantastic dishes as well. Pastry design will always be popular no matter what part of the world you reside in, and when you watch this anime you'll be blown away at what these characters come up with.

The show teaches us about the importance of having a focus and sticking to it, as shown by Ryou and his supreme baking skills. Many of us are led astray by others who don't serve a purpose similar to our own, and we become distracted and end up leaving our passions behind. Bonjour Koiaji Patisserie teaches us to regain that focus and to surround yourself with wonderful like minded individuals who will not only help you strive for success, but to help build character and live the life you've decided in your heart.

Coming in at number eight is Muteki Kanban Musume. This cooking anime story focuses on Miki, a poster girl who works by her mother's side at their Chinese ramen restaurant. Miki seems to have a very innocent persona at first glance, but that all changes once you get on her nerves. Whenever a conflict arises Miki tends to lose her temper, fighting with everyone in the restaurant including her mother, which ends up causing mishaps. Now, we simply can’t leave out the most important dish of the entire series, and that’s ramen. When watching the series you get a glimpse of the true essence of how the popular dish is made, and the heart that goes into it. Ramen is a very delicious bowl of savory goodness that can be served in a variety of ways.

In Muteki Kanban Musume, the style that is used primarily is the Chinese method of preparing which is quite simple and easy to do on your own. In Japan it is called Chuuka Soba which literally translates to Chinese Soba or Chinese Noodles. What you’ll usually find in a bowl of ramen consists of Chashuu which is sliced braised pork, Scallions, Menma (bamboo shoots), and the very popular Nori (Dried Seaweed). Other items can be added such as a boiled egg or bean sprouts which add an extra bit of texture and flavor to the meal. If you truly love ramen and would like to see more then be sure to check out Miki and her friends!

Sushi and Beyond is a food anime based on the book by British travel and dining Journalist Michael Booth. Booth and his family embark on a 100-day trip to Japan where Booth takes the viewer on an adventure to several Japanese styled restaurants focusing on various dishes. Not only does the show provide you with an entry way into the world of Japanese culture, you're educated on how to properly eat and enjoy the beautiful cuisine it shares with everyone.

For most of the show, it teaches us how special Japan really is and how unique much of the cuisine is with regards to Japanese tradition. This is a show that is full of great information not just about food but will educate you about Japanese culture as well. We suggest you watch it and learn more about the great restaurants that are found all around the amazing nation.

Wakako-Zake follows the audacious life of Wakako Murasaki, who truly enjoys going out alone to eat and drink where ever she desires after finishing work. Wakako takes us on a journey filled with an assortment of great food served in a very Japanese style. Each episode of the show lasts for roughly 2 minutes, making a short food/cooking anime that show us some very delicious meals throughout. A lot of the show introduces viewers to various Japanese methods of cooking such as the episode 11 where Wakako shows us a very popular dish named “Hokke”. Japanese custom its own method of preparing the dish and from watching this particular episode, you can see that every part of the fish is considered and not ignored.

In more of the episodes we start to see more unique dishes created by various chefs in different restaurants such as Crab Miso, Goya Chanpuru, and Sea Urchin Cresson which are very delicious Japanese dishes that can only be found in certain parts of the nation. We highly recommend watching this anime to really get a true feel of Japanese style culinary.

Kofuku Graffiti comes in at number five on our list, and we'll provide reasons why we think this awesome cooking anime deserves its position. Machiko Ryou is a middle school student that decides to live with her second cousin Morino Kirin. Knowing that her passion lies in the form of cooking, she finds happiness can be created through making great dishes for everyone, including Kirin. Her late grandmother had passed down her knowledge to ensure that Ryou can not only bring inspiration into her life, but also bring satisfaction to those around her. Gourmet cooking is such a blast to watch because of its sheer attention to detail relating to taste, color texture, and more.

A lot of moe is shown throughout the series which in Japanese refers to the feeling of bursting out or using a special power to make your heart burn with passion and love. You can definitely see passion and love come straight out of the hands of Ryou as she always has ideas running through her mind, ready to share great foods with her friends on their wonderful journey through the gourmet world. If you enjoy the moe-style approach along with mouth watering cookery then be sure to watch this great anime.

Making its way into our top five spot in our favorite cooking/food anime is Yumeiro Patisserie. This sweet cooking anime series follows the life of Ichigo Amano who doesn't necessarily have the talent of creating a beautiful cake, but her strong palate makes up for it quite easily. Her grandmother who was a pastry chef encourages Amano to pursue a career in pastry, and tells her to find a school to study and become a chef herself. We see that throughout the series Amano uses her great sense of taste to create some very potent pastries that will have you foaming from the mouth.

For those who have a sweet tooth, Amano whips up a great assortment of cakes while her competition throughout the series make some of the best pastries we've ever seen. The sheer attention to detail and accuracy are what make this such a great addition to our list. The food may be the selling point of the series, but what truly places the icing on the cake is the presentation. Have you ever walked into a pastry shop only to see everything so neatly stocked and designed? Yumieiro Patisserie will not only have you licking your lips in satisfaction, but also inspire you to truly live out your dreams and become a master of what you love doing in your heart.

Yakitate! Japan is a wonderful classic cooking anime that focused on the life of the bread obsessed Azuma Kazuma whose dream was to become the best bread maker in Japan. He was gifted by the gods with having hands that could produce natural heat and help speed up the fermenting process when making bread dough. The special power was known as “Solar Hands” which you can see him use frequently all throughout the competition. His goal is to make his Ja-Pan the national bread of Japan, and so he ventures out to ensure he secures a spot in the very prestigious Pantasia Bakery. We chose this as our number two spot because Kazuma shows determination his willingness to succeed doing what he loves, which is to make bread. Furthermore there aren't that many anime that really focus on the process of making bread from scratch, using real methods to demonstrate to the viewer.

Not only does this baking anime educate you and make you crave some sweet pastries, it is full of great humor that will keep you laughing for hours after watching one episode. One great example is how the show really focuses on exaggerating those moments when the judges taste a certain pastry only to burst out in this pseudo-orgasmic behavior that just creates a wonderful tone, and helps to balance out the more serious moments of the show. If you truly enjoy your cakes and sweet pastries like we do, then make sure to check out this very wonderful slice of life comedy.

We most certainly love diversity when it comes to the preparation of food, and so our next contestant for Food/cooking anime is Ristorante Paradiso which comes in at number two. Nicoletta felt resentment towards her mother Olga, as she ran off to Rome to remarry. Nicoletta never accepted her mother's decision and throughout her youth she vowed to get back at her, that is until she comes across an Italian restaurant called Casetta Dell'Orso. As Nicoletta walked inside she was immediately greeted by very handsome gentlemen in formal clothing, and much like the employees the clientele were very well kept too. Before she could ever really let out her feelings towards her mother, the environment in which she found herself in started to grow on her leading to a love of the Italian lifestyle.

The wonderful thing about this anime doesn't just come from Nicoletta’s complicated past, but from the marvelous cuisine that comes from it all. You can see that much of Nicoletta's mother's love is displayed through her fine dining being very meticulous. Once you're greeted with a glass of red wine and some of the world's best Italian pasta, every bit of hatred in your bones dissipate and you're immediately amazed with all of the many herbs and spices that blend well with each other. We suggest you take a bit of time to relax and enjoy the adventures that Nicoletta experiences, and truly take in all that Casetta Dell'Orso has to offer.

Shokugeki no Souma really turned heads and made many drool when it made its debut back in the spring of 2015. Yukihira has had a dream since he was very little to become a world renowned chef, but never had much opportunity to showcase his talents. His father one day decided to close the restaurant and encouraged Yukihira to enroll in the Tootsuki Culinary Academy to sharpen his skills as a chef. This elite cooking school is home to some of the world's best and it has now become the purpose of Yukihira to fulfill his dream to becoming the best the world has ever seen.

The first season of the this cooking anime really left us craving for more as each episode that aired was overflowing with information pertaining not just cooking, but Japanese style cuisine too. With a variety of culinary techniques we were amazed at just how well prepared these dishes were and how remarkably similar they are to their real life counterparts. In the second season Yukihira makes his triumphant return continuing from where it left off in the very tense culinary finals, where he squares off against highly skilled chef Alice. While we don't want to giveaway much of the episode, much of it focuses on the very popular Bento. This new season is already shaping up to be a very intense one which is why we had to give it the number one spot.