Well like a lot of Americans, I had spent this past Thursday eating way too much. It’s the start of the “eat way too much” season. And then New Year’s Day I restart the resolution to lose weight. In the meanwhile there are some titles that just involve a lot of tasty food and drinks that make you want to toss away the diet. So here are a few of the ones I’ve checked out and enjoyed.
See the links for how I was able to read/watch these titles. While you can read many of the titles on Amazon, I will be using links to other sites I recommend as alternatives where available. Also I don’t use fan translation sites and other “illegal” websites. I’m paranoid and suspicious of malware, viruses, and other potential hazards those sites might have. Also are brief blurbs about why I enjoy these titles.
Campfire Cooking In Another World With My Absurd Skill
You get summoned to another world. Cool. You get a ridiculous skill called “online supermarket.” Lame! Or so you think. You never have to worry about food. You technically could sell unique, high quality food and ingredients that don’t exist in this world you’re stuck in. Plus consuming “other world” food means you get some buffs to your stats! What could have been a lame ass skill isn’t as bad as it appears!
Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5X3EE/campfire-cooking-in-another-world-with-my-absurd-skill
Manga - https://j-novel.club/series/campfire-cooking-in-another-world-with-my-absurd-skill-manga
Light Novel - https://j-novel.club/series/campfire-cooking-in-another-world-with-my-absurd-skill
Restaurant to Another World
Enjoy a relax Saturday where you can eat tasty dishes and drinks unlike any you’ve see before! Meeting fascinating customers from a variety of kingdoms. From humans to fairies to demons, you just never know who will come through Nekoya’s doors.
It’s a wonderful, relaxing culinary tale with plenty of world building. You also get the building of relationships and bridges across races in another world.
Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GR49493P6/restaurant-to-another-world
Manga - https://yenpress.com/series/restaurant-to-another-world
Light Novel - https://sevenseasentertainment.com/series/restaurant-to-another-world-light-novel/
50 Tea Recipes from the Duchess
Fellow tea lovers rejoice! There is a story for us! When an underappreciated office worker loses her job, she suddenly finds her consciousness teleported into the body of an outcast duchess! She takes the opportunity to reinvent herself and the life of this downtrodden duchess. And she does it with the power of tea! You can actually learn a surprising amount about tea you might not know before!
Webcomic/manhwa - https://tapas.io/series/50-tea-recipes-from-the-duchess/
Isekai Izakaya Nobu
When their business wasn’t doing too well, the staff of Nobu wished they’d get more customers to try out the food! Their prayers are answered when their front door becomes a portal that leads customers from another world to their humble izakaya!
This is an enjoyable serious that’s not only a manga and anime series, but it’s also a live action drama as well!
Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6J0WJ05R/isekai-izakaya-japanese-food-from-another-world
Live Action Season 1 - https://www.viki.com/tv/38713c-isekai-izakaya-nobu-season-1
Live Action Season 2 - https://www.viki.com/tv/38714c-isekai-izakaya-nobu-season-2
Manga - https://store.udonentertainment.com/products/otherworldly-izakaya-nobu-volume-1
The Gourmet Gamer
The lead character is a talented chef who was a rising star in the culinary world. An accident leaves him unable to taste or smell. What a disaster for a chef! However he discovers there’s a new VR world that claims to recreate all the sense in their game world! He takes a chance and much to his shock, he really can taste and smell things again! His journey through “Real” helps him rediscover his passion and confidence in cooking again.
It really is a wonderful exploration of one’s dreams and self-esteem. Along the way he forms new bonds and relationships after he thought he lost all hope and purpose.
Tappytoon version - https://www.tappytoon.com/en/book/the-gourmet-gamer
Lezhin version - https://www.lezhinus.com/en/comic/gourmetgamer
Opening A Cafe In Another World
It’s another food related isekai sure. However you can’t help but root for Risa as she singlehandedly revolutionizes cuisine in the new world she is summoned to. She is able to make a new life and a new home among strangers. Risa doesn’t mope and complain about her circumstances and actually makes the best of it. It’s another relaxing series that I personally enjoy. I can’t wait for the rest to come out. It would also be cool if this is turned into an anime series!
Ramen Akaneko
If you love ramen and you love cats, this is the series for you! This is an enjoyable series of vignettes that take place in a unique ramen shop where most of the staff are cats! Slide into a booth or hop up to bar and enjoy tasty ramen made by clever cats. I particularly love the character development and the bonds formed among the characters.
Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GVDHX85ZN/ramen-akaneko
Cooking Sorcerer
Once again the protagonist winds up teleported to another world and she takes over the life of a modest sorceress. With some ingenuity, she’s able to use magic to help her recreate food she misses. Along the way she helps people in need of a tasty meal and hope. This was a fun story with a blossoming romance. From my research it looks like this manhwa had an abrupt ending because of the artist’s personal health. Though at least you do get some sort of ending, though there are some hanging plot points and definitely potential for more to the story.
Manhwa - https://www.tappytoon.com/en/book/cooking-sorcerer
Kakuriyo - Bed & Breakfast for Spirits
What do you do when you find out your dead grandfather offered your hand in marriage as collateral to an ogre? You try to negotiate your way out of it buy using the one unique ability you have: cooking. Aoi finds herself dealing with the denizens of an alternate dimension where spirits and demons live.
This is a really entertaining series where we learn more about how the beings in this dimension live. We find out about the different types of beings and the way their society is organized. Aoi learns more about what her grandfather was like before he became the old man who took her in. There’s apparently a second season scheduled for late 2025. Which is a major surprise since Season 1 aired in 2018!
Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G6MEK1ZGR/kakuriyo--bed--breakfast-for-spirits-
The Cook’s Hidden Blessing
The lead character wishes he could do a better job cooking food that can help people. His prayers are answered by the goddess of Agriculture herself, Ceres! This is a pretty heart warming story where Jungdong becomes a talented chef who does bring joy to people he feeds. Meanwhile there’s more to Ceres’s help than just doing it out of the goodness of her divine heart. I just look forward to seeing what new antics happen with every chapter.
Sweet Reincarnation
What a tragedy that a talent sugar artist dies! He is reincarnated as the son of a low ranking noble new to his title. Young lord Pastry decides to use his culinary skills to help change the fortunes of his nouveau riche family. It’s honestly just plain fun to see the lead character try to revolution food in his new life and help the people of his fief become better and stronger. I’m a sucker for these types of scenarios.
Anime - https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GJ0H7QG2G/sweet-reincarnation
Have you checked out any of these? Any of them you’re interested in checking out? Leave a comment below. And please share with other food lovers you know!
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