In the Food Wars Manga Story, Soma Yukihira is a key character. He comes from a family diner and brings his down - to - earth cooking approach to the prestigious culinary school. Then there's Erina Nakiri, who is a bit of an ice queen at first. She has been trained in high - end cuisine and has very high standards. Takumi Aldini is also a main character, an Italian - Japanese cook who is Soma's rival and friend at the same time. There are other characters too, like Megumi Tadokoro, who starts off as a shy cook but grows throughout the story.