At first glance, it sounds like your standard shounen manga formula, doesn't it? A few chapters in, it certainly does affirm that sentiment.

What formula do you speak of, you ask ? Overpowered main character ; fights someone better -- loses initially or is faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge --> actual battle, wins through a trump card or sheer will or something naive.

Shokugeki no Soma - however, thoroughly shocked and impressed me.
First things first, the art is amazing. Nuff' said. No complaints from me. I'm not a fan of ecchi - but the way it combines with food and writing - it does it in a way that doesn't aim to 'turn one On'. However from what I've read so far, it's more to describe a feeling - and also for Comedic effect. If you view it that way, the Ecchi in this manga doesn't really disturb me. Further, the fact that practically Black lines and white spaces can 'color' and 'flavor' food to this extent is impressive ! The detail put in is amazing, the art really does complement the lengthy and difficult explanations - making it 'palatable'.

Moving on, in the Story aspect of this manga. Truly the progression is amazing, with each new phase (i.e from the small entrance exam to the Autumn Elections) appearing grander and even more challenging. WAIT ! Now, you might be saying, this is the same with many other shounen manga, be it the Action genre such as Bleach OR the Cooking genre such as Bartender or Yakitate Japan! or even Nobunaga no Chef or Dungeon Meshi etc. Now now, hear me out! What made this manga stand out - is the fact that each new phase while fulfilling the standard progression of the mangas within it's genre, it does it smoothly while balancing each other with new unique characters, or interesting quirks and settings. At times the scenes are absolutely crazy (ie. the Finals of the Autumn Election) to simpler settings (i.e. the No Contest in the Classroom). However, at each Shokugeki - the attention to detail, in dialogue, explanations and characters are incredibly captivating and amusing. Also, I haven't found any fillers (or at least nothing seemed like something trashy like a Filler to me).

This leads me to the crux of my Perfect score. Honestly in the words of Chapelle-sensei early on in this manga, "I would give this a higher score if I could". The crux is the Characters. Each of them are Unique. There's no such thing as a cookie cutter characters in this manga, save the extras in the background. From the teachers, to the judges to obviously the chefs. Each and everyone of them not only are provided with clothing that set them apart from each other, they are given backstories and histories, from brief to complex. Speaking about the Chefs, it continues to impress me 170+ chapters in- that the mangaka and team are able to continuously innovate and enhance them. Giving them proper 'Development' - through each phase of the manga, we can see of course Souma's growth. But we also see Ibusaki, Takuni, Aldini, Nakiri(s), Hayama etc's immense growth. Borne from their interactions with Souma but also spurred on by their losses with other chefs through the Shokugekis. The reader is able to see them mature at a reasonable pace - making them believable. What's more - what sets this manga apart is it's Subjectivity.

The main element of the Shokugeki is - food. There is certainly no Objective way of evaluating a person's cooking skills. Compared to other mangas where the hero has a observable and measureable way of seeing the fighting prowess or overpowered strength or immeasurable intelligence etc. In this manga, the characters ARE ALL CRAZY STRONG. But it's so hard to measure their skill. Plus, the story really doesn't give in to Predictability. The MC can Lose! Geniuses can triumph and lose too. That means, every phase will keep you on the edge of your seat.
What's more - these characters are Equally as Important as the main character. Not only can they hold their own as Stars - but they also make the main character better. Each with their own skills and ability to impress and entice the reader to rooting for them.

All in all, there is a good balance of comedy and seriousness. The main character is 'human'. He's not someone gifted or especially talented. It's interesting to see a MC that not only Struggles and Fails. But also one that COMBINES the past failures, trials and errors and struggles to improves himself.

This manga is a work of art that does not cut corners and is worthy of reading. Thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.