Food for the Soul Episode Synopsis

Episode 12 【Thanks for the Meal!!】

Mako visits a casual Chinese restaurant she saw in a Mokotaro video. She is very pleased with the generous portion and flavor of the twice-cooked pork set that she orders.

The Gastronomy Research Club gathers in their club room on New Year’s Eve to give it a thorough cleaning for the new year. As they work, they reminisce about their first time there.

They set up a kotatsu and relax as they sort through their photos. Then they start cooking the meal they plan to eat while welcoming the new year—toshikoshi soba noodles and rolled sushi.

The five girls welcome the new year with their bellies full. Following Shinon’s suggestion, they head out together for the first shrine visit of the year.

Shivering in cold, they finish their prayers, then sip amazake as they watch the bonfire being used for the Shinto rite of takiage—burning items to purify them and remove any bad luck they’ve accumulated during their use so that they can be released.

They think back on everything that’s happened in the last year. As dawn breaks, the five girls of the Gastronomy Research Club take their first photo of the new year!

Episode 11 【Are You Free on Christmas?!】

Mako begins growing winter vegetables at home. When they don’t seem to do well, she goes to Sakura for advice.

After wrapping up their study at the university and preparing to head home, Shinon, Tsutsuji and Nana realize that they are locked in the building.

The three of them try to sneak out without being spotted by the clerk. The clerk laughs off the ghost story about a phantom hooded lady that’s grown popular among the students, but then she spots a suspicious figure while looking around the school building.

One day, the five girls plan to host a Christmas party while hanging out at the clubroom. They decide to hold the party at Mako’s place.

Mako throws all her energy into preparing for their visit, giving the place a thorough cleaning. When the day of the party arrives, and though she thinks her preparations are perfect, Mako accidentally oversleeps and forgets to pick up the delivery for the presents she’d ordered.

Mako feels down, but her friends console her, and the party they’ve been looking forward to finally begins!

Episode 10 【I’m Back】

With the final exams over, the Gastronomy Research Club plans a trip. Following Mako’s suggestion, they decide to travel together while she visits her hometown.

After arriving safely, Kurea, who drove a long distance alone, is exhausted and knocks out immediately. They stay at Mako’s grandmother’s old house—a charming place with a traditional stove and hearth.

While Tsutsuji and Nana stay behind to cook lunch for Kurea, they struggle at starting the fire. Meanwhile, Mako and Shinon visit old friends Hiyori and Yuna.

Although Mako is nervous at first, they soon get excited sharing memories of old times. Before she knows it, she’s talking about the Gastronomy Research Club.

When they get home, the girls enjoy rice cooked in a traditional pot, and they have hotpot and grilled fish. As the memories pile up, Mako finds herself wanting to make even more memories with the five of them.

Episode 9 【Let’s Run a Food Stall!】

The Gastronomy Research Club decides to run a stall at the university fair. To decide what they’ll serve there, Mako makes trial dishes at Kurea’s family restaurant.

She makes curry to start with, but it turns out only average, leaving them all concerned. Shinon goes to Sakura for advice and enlists the help of the Agriculture Club.

Meanwhile, Nana, who has been put in charge of serving customers, starts special training with Tsutsuji to overcome her shyness around new people.

Wanting another shot at making curry, Mako and the others go to a roadside station with Sakura. Following Sakura’s recommendation, they find some game meat there.

They are all pleased with the venison soup curry they come up with. On the day of the university fair, Mako and Kurea worry about their lack of customers.

But when Shinon, Tsutsuji and Nana start handing out flyers, a crowd begins to form. The soup curry begins to sell one after another, and becomes so well-received that it’s sold out in no time!

Episode 8 【Is the AC… Broken…?】

Nana’s pet Pochi has escaped from its cage. It seems to still be in the house somewhere, but Nana panics after losing sight of it.

While Nana’s mother and older sister are having tea in the living room, Nana spots Pochi hiding in a houseplant behind her sister and does her best to remain calm.

Knowing that her sister doesn’t like Pochi, Nana babbles incoherently to try to keep her from noticing anything, but an incident ensues.

When Nana confides in Mako over the phone, Mako seems to assume that Pochi is a particular sort of animal…

One day, the clubroom’s air conditioner suddenly malfunctions during a heat wave! While the girls are having trouble staying in the clubroom, a senior named Sakura from the Agriculture Club appears before them.

It turns out Shinon had promised to help her in the fields over the summer in exchange for the club’s refrigerator.

The five girls head to the fields and begin their work after splitting into teams to harvest and water the vegetables. Farming under the sweltering sun is hard, but the colorful vegetables look so delicious!

Episode 7 【I Don’t Think I’ll Ever Forget】

Tomorrow marks the first day of Gastronomy Research Club’s training camp. The girls enjoy their day riding the retro train and making stops.

However, it suddenly starts raining when they arrive at the bungalow, leaving them with no choice but to change their menu idea as the pizza oven becomes unusable.

The girls watch movies and play games indoors, enjoying their camp. In their beds, Tsutsuji and Nana start talking about their high school memories.

However, Kurea’s reaction when being asked about her high school memories worries Mako… The next day, when the weather is clear, Mako and Kurea prepare the pizza at the kitchen.

Mako asks Kurea why she seems a little sad, and Kurea reveals that it is because of the long-standing relationship between Mako and Shinon, and Tsutsuji and Nana…

Episode 6 【I’ve Gotten Fatter…?】

The five club members arrive at an outlet mall and start things off by spending time at a cafe.

Mako orders a huge pancake for herself, surprising the other girls. With stomachs full, they visit the shop where Nana’s older sister works.

Mako tries on a skirt at Kurea and the others’ recommendation, but she can’t zip it up… When she gets home, she hesitantly weighs herself and discovers she’s put on weight! Mako resolves to diet, forbidding herself from snacks and deciding to hit the gym.

Nana and Tsutsuji accompany her, but the three of them struggle due to a lack of physical strength. Meanwhile, Shinon and Kurea work to create content for the club’s homepage.

Just when they think they’ve got everything in order, the student affairs clerk requests for a picture of them all sitting around a table eating.

Episode 5 【Wanna Go Out For a Drive?】

Kurea and Shinon’s hard work pays off and they get their driver’s licenses.

The five of them decide to go for a drive in the car from Kurea’s family’s restaurant. Kurea tells Mako, who has never even thought about getting her license, about the fond memories she has of her mother taking her in the car to Tsukiji when she was a kid.

The first one to take the wheel is Shinon. She’s so nervous about her first time driving that just when she thinks everything is going well, she accidentally gets on the freeway. She can’t manage to get to an exit, so they’re all relieved when she somehow finds her way to a rest stop.

Next at the wheel is Kurea, who takes them all the way to Tsukiji. They snack as they walk along shops full of neatly arranged fresh fish and have fun buying ingredients. Since there’s a barbecue area nearby, they decide to have a barbecue.

Shinon and Nana play nearby on the beach, Tsutsuji starts the fire, and with Kurea and Mako in charge of the cooking, the barbecue begins!

Episode 4 【Her Name is Nana Hoshi】

Mako accidentally bumps into a girl while leaving German class. She apologizes reflexively, but is frightened after realizing that the girl is glaring at her. Later, as Mako relaxes alone in the clubroom, she senses a presence near the door.

That person turns out to be the scary girl she bumped into! Since she seems to have some business with the Gastronomy Research Club, Mako invites her in, but the atmosphere turns awkward.

Mako finds an opportunity to escape, but Tsutsuji shows up and introduces the girl as her high school classmate, Nana Hoshi. Nana didn’t join the Gastronomy Research Club because she wanted to start a Puzzle Club, but her bone-deep shyness caused her to give up and decide to join the Gastronomy Research Club instead.

After welcoming Nana to the club, Tsutsuji suggests that the three of them study together on Saturday, but…

Episode 3 【The Money’s Gone】

Mako is slowly getting along with the other members of the Gastronomy Research Club. They decide to go out together over the weekend, but then Shinon starts crying to them about losing her secret savings.

They all visit Shinon’s house to look for the missing money, but it turns out that Shinon has forgotten where she hid it. With a cryptic sticky note as their only lead, they try to solve the mystery together.

On a clear morning, Mako and the others meet up to climb Mount Takao. They have fun along the path to the shrine, finding souvenirs and buying snacks to eat on the go.

Near the summit, they come across a teahouse that previously appeared in one of Mokotaro’s videos, so they all stop there for a rest and some lunch. Mako orders the popular menu item that Mokotaro ate…

Episode 2 【I Want to Try Cooking】

Mako joins the “Gastronomy Research Club”, a fake club that Shinon randomly made up in order to get themselevs a clubroom.

Contrary to Mako’s expectation, their first club activity is to give their room a thorough cleaning. Even though they goof around, they manage to finish tidying up.

The next day, they each bring something of their choice to the clubroom. Kurea brings a table, Shinon brings games, Mako brings a kettle, and Tsutsuji brings a sofa so huge that it barely fits through the door.

As they enjoy a relaxing time with the black tea Mako brought, a clerk from student affairs comes to check on their club activities. They are informed that a club with no real activities will be disbanded immediately, so they’ll have to do something that shows what their club is all about by the next day.

How will they show proof of their club activities, in a clubroom that has no cooking equipment other than the kettle Mako brought?

Episode 1 【Welcome to the Food Culture Research Club】

Mako Kawai, a university freshman, has just started living on her own. Her hobby is cooking, and she cooks for herself every day. One day, she is aggressively approached by Shinon Ogawa.

It turns out Shinon is her childhood friend from elementary school, and is attending the same university. Together with Shinon are Tsutsuji Higa and Kurea Furutate. The three of them invite Mako to join their new club, the “Gastronomy Research Club”.

Caught off guard by the sudden reunion and club invitation, Mako reflexively declines. One day, while feeling down and looking at a shop display window, Kurea calls out to her.

The shop is run by Kurea’s mother, and Kurea works part-time there. Mako has never been one to eat out alone, but when the sauce katsudon that she has always wanted to try is served before her, she unconsciously starts gobbling down the food…