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The Man Called the "Légumes Magician" is the 1st chapter of Shokugeki no Soma: L'étoile. It tells the story of Kojirō Shinomiya, a Japanese chef who mastered French cuisine.

Plot Summary[]

Prior to the actual story, Kojirō Shinomiya recalls the events of the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp. He remembers Gin Dōjima asking him to taste Megumi Tadokoro's dish, which made him realize he lost sight of what was important in cooking.

Kojirō meets Grâce

Kojirō bumps into Grâce

The chapter then makes a timeskip, with Kojirō visiting the Marché Bastille after returning to Paris. As he walks through the local market, a vendor asks a customer if he wants to buy some tomatoes. Kojirō thinks about buying some tomatoes himself, when a clumsy young woman bumps into him. She drops the tomatoes she was carrying, but Kojirō manages to catch the tomatoes before they fall to the ground. He returns the tomatoes, telling her to be more careful, in the process accidentally insulting her in Japanese as she reminded him of Megumi. The young woman doesn't seem to understand, and after he realizes his mistake, Kojirō brushes her off.

At that moment, a group of local land sharks arrives at the market, coming to terrorize the young girl and her associate. Kojirō plans to ignore them, but is accidentally hit by a tomato thrown by one of the goons. Kojirō then calmly polishes his glasses and buys a bottle of champagne, shaking it right next to the head of the guy who hit him. As the goon becomes completely soaked by Kojirō's action, the goons and Kojirō get into an argument. Just before things start to escalate, a woman accompanying the group of land sharks tries to resolve the argument, only to get rebuffed by Kojirō. A police squad then intervenes and arrests the goons for disturbing things at the market.

Kojirō hit by tomato

Kojirō hit by the tomato

A local shop owner then starts explaining the situation to Kojirō, who is surprised by the fact they were after the young woman. The woman tries to thank Kojirō and explains the goons were after her father first. Kojirō brushes her off once again, telling her he isn't involved in the situation, but he stops in mid-sentence after taking another look at the tomatoes she is carrying with her. The young woman thinks there is something wrong with the tomatoes, but before long the land sharks return and start demolishing her shop. Kojirō intervenes once again, telling the goons that the tomato is much more valuable than they think and is probably more valuable than you guys.

The land sharks aren't impressed with his statement and the woman accompanying the group asks Kojirō to prove himself right. He accepts her challenge under his conditions and soon goes ahead to make a dish with the tomato at the local market. People gather around the cooking arena and they soon realize Kojirō is making Tomates Farcies, a tomato dish stuffed with vegetables. The woman believes the dish he made is nothing special at all, as every average cook could stuff a tomato. She is however soon drawn in by the smell of the dish and after tasting it, she is surprised by the fact all ingredients were perfectly chosen for the dish. She soon realizes it is the tomato itself which made the dish a success, and calls for a tomato revolution.

Tomato of Versailles

Kojirō's dish makes an impact on the group of land sharks

The woman admits defeat, but her brother persuades her to demolish the shop anyway. Before they make their move however, Kojirō makes a deal with the young woman owning the shop, proceeding to buy all of her tomatoes and agreeing on a contract for the future. As Kojirō signs the contract with his back name, the group of land sharks come to realize they were dealing with Kojirō Shinomiya, owner of local French restaurant Shino's, nicknamed the Légumes Magician and first Japanese chef to be awarded with the Pluspol-award. Kojirō then reveals the tomatoes come from Japan originally, himself having taught the method on how to cultivate them to the father of the young woman. Kojirō then tells the goons that people who only care about money can't understand the worth of these tomatoes.

As his last statement made one of the land sharks furious, a goon plans to assault Kojirō. He is however stopped by the people at the market, who throw tomatoes at him and his siblings. They are then driven away for good, with one of the people at the market telling the young woman did well too, revealing her name to be Grâce. Kojirō ponders about her name, realizing it has a similar meaning to Megumi in Japanese. As Kojirō walks away from the market, Grâce thanks the chef for his help, with Kojirō responding he needed the tomato for his dish. Grâce then asks for Kojirō to pay for the vegetables he bought in advance, shocking the latter.

Characters in Order of Appearance[]

Featured Dishes[]

Trivia[]

  • On page 28, the text The Tomato of Versailles is a reference to one of the best-known manga series The Rose of Versailles.

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