Jōichirō Yukihira Husbando

Jōichirō Yukihira, né Saiba, is the father of Sōma Yukihira. He was a 69th Tōtsuki Generation student, a former resident of the Polar Star Dormitory, and previously started out as a 7th seat of the Elite Ten Council as a freshman before being promoted to 2nd seat during his third year. Due to pressure received by his peers to keep being the best in Tōtsuki, he subsequently left the Academy by the suggestion of Senzaemon Nakiri. He never returned, causing him to not graduate. Nonetheless, he is a prodigious chef, who is looked up to by all. Originally known as Jōichirō Saiba, Jōichirō was a legendary Tōtsuki student who passed the academy tests with little difficulty. He passed Fumio Daimidō's entrance exam into the Polar Star Dormitory and became one of the central pillars of the Polar Star Golden Era. Along with his fellow 69th Generation Polar Star friend Gin Dōjima, Jōichiro eventually entered the Elite Ten Council, earning the 2nd seat just below Gin, however, due to his carefree nature, his habit of not doing paperwork and being late to class every once in a while, Jōichiro never took the 1st seat, despite him being the best cook of the generation according to Gin. The two also faced off against each other in the final round of their Autumn Election. He has a record of 101 wins in 121 cooking duels against Gin. He also became acquainted with a 74th Generation Polar Star student, Jun Shiomi whom he used as a taste tester for many of his experimental dishes. Though Jōichirō remembered those times fondly, Jun did not. Lastly, Azami Nakamura, a Polar Star member two years younger than him began to idolize Jōichirō for his impressive skill. By the end of his first year, Jōichirō had acquired the 7th seat of the Elite Ten Council. He was also selected to participate in BLUE, a prestigious cooking competition for upcoming chefs. Some of the upperclassmen felt cheated by his selection over them, so Jōichirō challenged them to a Régiment de Cuisine, where he alone would face off against all of his opponent's team. Jōichirō proceeded to crush all of his opponents with utter ruthlessness, most giving up because of his fearsome tenacity and his unrivaled natural skill. Previously, Jōichirō was known as a "genius" and "trailblazer", but the utter despair left after every single match in his opponents earned him the nickname Asura. By his third year, Jōichirō had acquired the 2nd Seat of the Elite Ten Council and became the most notable member of the Polar Star Dormitory at the time. Jōichirō had continued to participate in numerous cooking battles, each either resulting in total victory or the opponent withdrawing immediately upon seeing his name as their opponent. Despite his overwhelming success, Jōichirō began to lose sight of himself, wondering what to if he should win BLUE. Looking at his exhausted, marred appearance, Jōichirō mysteriously disappeared and missed the competition. Gin eventually found him in the Chandra's Room where he faced off against Jōichirō at the end of their Autumn Election. As Jōichirō pondered what he was going to do after, Senzaemon appeared and suggested that he leave the country and do some soul searching. Jōichirō accepted the idea and promptly departed from the academy, never to return or graduate from it. After departing from Tōtsuki, Jōichirō became a freelance chef, traveling the world, learning various cooking techniques and acquiring special ingredients from different cultures. Through his travels, Jōichirō eventually began to cook again, rekindling his reputation and becoming one of the most infamous chefs around the world. However, he found himself unable to regain his passion for cooking. One day, during one of his return trips to Japan, he ran across a small special of the day shop Restaurant Yukihira in the Sumiredōri Shopping District. While he was disgusted by the "Chef's Special" (prepared by the owner's daughter Tamako Yukihira, infamous among the regulars due to her terrible cooking), he found himself attracted to the environment of the restaurant, and made a point to return to the restaurant every time he came to Japan. Eventually, Yukihira's owner gave him a job at the restaurant. Through working with Tamako and watching her genuine desire to cook for her customer's happiness, Jōichirō rediscovered his passion for cooking. His friendship with Tamako developed into romance, and by the time he was 23, the two were married and had a son named Sōma. Jōichirō took his wife's last name, although he was still known as Saiba to many of his previous acquaintances. While he remained at Restaurant Yukihira, Jōichirō would time to time would resume traveling the world, cooking for his previous clients and collecting knowledge from the places he visited. Sometime after Sōma was born, he called Gin to let him know he was back in Japan with family. Unfortunately, the phone connection was poor so he was unable to give Gin his address or the complete name of his restaurant before going back to work. Still, Jōichirō from time to time would still work for many important people around the world. At the age of 28, Jōichirō was summoned to the Nakiri Mansion by Senzaemon to discuss a matter of importance. During his visit, he met a young Erina Nakiri. Though Senzaemon told her to go back to her room so he could continue to discuss something with Jōichirō, Erina's stomach growled. Jōichirō immediately prepared a dish just for her and with a single bite, Erina was completely enthralled not just by the unique taste of his dish, but also by Jōichirō's charm. This event became a turning point in Erina's life and she requested for a photo of the two together, a notion Jōichirō happily obliged. She also asked for his name and if he would ever taste her dishes. Jōichirō promised he would only do so when she becomes a great chef herself.