Erina Nakiri

"She will become the greatest masterpiece since Tōtsuki Culinary Academy was founded."

- Gin Dōjima

Erina Nakiri (薙切 えりな) is one of the heroines and was a primary antagonistic rival to Sōma Yukihira in Shokugeki no Soma. Wielding the best palate in the world, "God's Tongue" and a member of the illustrious Nakiri family, Erina stands above everyone in her class as the top prospect of the 92nd Tōtsuki Generation and is the current 3rd seat of the Elite Twenty Council.

Appearance
Erina has purple-pinkish eyes and long honey blonde hair that flows just above her lower back. Her side bangs partially cross her cheeks and go down all the way to her neck. She has a large bust and is considered by most of the students in Tōtsuki to be extremely beautiful. According to her fans and followers, this trait coincides with her status.

She wears whatever Tōtsuki uniform corresponds with the current season. Whenever she cooks, she wears a standard white chef's uniform and occasionally wears a chef's hat. She has never been shown in casual clothing except for a cotton jacket and a bikini during her pool outing and a simple nightgown when sleeping.

Her measurements are: bust 88cm, waist 56cm and hip 87cm (35-22-34).

Personality
On the surface, Erina is a typical privileged, pampered rich girl, used to getting only the best in her life. With her status as a Nakiri family member on top of her rare ability "God's Tongue", Erina deems almost everything and everyone as plebeians in her "perfect world". Despite her young age, she is a prominent figure in the culinary world and is a cooking prodigy. Erina's cooking skills are on par with most professional chefs, if not better than most, something that started as a young girl. Using her God's Tongue, she has earned a bit of infamy in the culinary industry, as any dish that she deems unsatisfactory shall spell the end of any chef's career. Her reputation is so well known, her name alone is able to scare off amateur chefs within seconds. At the same time though, Erina's influence attracts many in her class due to her beauty, prestige, and unrivaled skill. Due to her prodigious skills, she is confident, never showing any sort of fear and has completed every event in the school thus far with ease.

Erina's father subjected Erina to a particularly brutal regimen as a child, causing her personality to become cold and ruthless towards any sort of dishes that use cheap ingredients or use "plebeian tactics." She is not above criticizing others the minute they make a mistake or treat her unjustly in her mind. This also makes her prone to making hasty judgments about simplistic dishes without ever considering them worthy of her time. Even if the said dishes are delicious, Erina's immediately denies them from her "perfect world." Much of this stems from her father's "teachings" in which any dish with poor taste is considered garbage. She has spiteful tendencies as any person who ruins her image and demeanor immediately becomes a target for her. Erina likes to flaunt her titles and status over her less privileged classmates, mostly towards her main rival and antagonist, Sōma Yukihira. Still, Erina is more than willing to listen to others' advice and opinions and is generally polite to people unless they annoy or insult her.

Despite her proud demeanor, she does have a soft side, which was more apparent in her childhood. In more recent times, this has only been shown whenever her idol, Jōichirō Yukihira, is on her mind. She lacks common teenage girl behaviors, such as romances and relationships. She considers a girl walking home together with a boy and even a couple holding hands as "shameless". She does not know how to handle free time as a "normal girl" would and, as Alice would say, she lacks common sense. For example, she has no clue where to buy shojo manga because Hisako always buys them for her and they are not found in her grandfather's study. Erina does have some traits of a normal girl, including her liking towards shōjo manga, playing card games, and othello. In her first days in Polar Star Dormitory, Erina experienced a bit of culture shock as simple everyday tasks such as doing her own laundry were new to her. Through her time at Polar Star Dormitory, she learned how to perform most basic home chores such as laundry, even memorizing the various laundry symbols that can be found on tags.

Though she is normally confident and often haughty, Erina has only showed strong fear when in the presence of her own father. This fear has caused her to be extremely submissive in his presence, unable to vocally stop any of his actions that impact her, no matter how much it upsets her. This includes claiming the table she had kept in reserve at her Moon Banquet Festival booth just for Jōichirō as well as firing Hisako from her position as her secretary. Though she had nearly ten years without her father's brainwashing and exposure to much more kind individuals, her father's grip on her heart was retained when he returned years later. However, it seems that this grip has lessened thanks to her time spent in Polar Star, enough so for her to willingly defy her father and fight to take down his regime with the help of her fellow 92nd Generation standouts.

Childhood
Born in the prestigious Nakiri Family, Erina is gifted with "God's Tongue", the ability to accurately judge a food's quality to the highest degree. Since her gift became well known, most of her baby food was made by professional chefs to satisfy her incredible tasting abilities. As a young girl, Erina had somewhat of a rivalry with her Danish cousin Alice Nakiri, who also was born into the Nakiri family. Erina at age 3 snatched Alice's toy from her and thought that the cake that Alice baked for her 4th birthday tasted awful, but was grateful for her kind gesture. Around this time, she became friends with another young girl named Hisako Arato, who pledged all of her efforts to serve Erina.

Around the age of 4, Erina's latent talent as a taste tester became apparent and she begun assisting people in the culinary industry, taste testing countless dishes and critiquing them. Though she took her role seriously as a member of the Nakiri family, she had no passion for cooking at the time. However, things changed when she met Jōichirō Saiba, who was visiting Senzaemon. Though Senzaemon told her she had to return to her room, after hearing her stomach growl, Jōichirō prepared a dish for her. With just a single bite of the dish, she felt an overwhelming sense of warmth and fun from his dish, a feeling never experienced from any other dish she had tasted before. Though his visit was short, Erina developed a deep respect and affection for Jōichirō, so much so that she continues to carry a photo of the two from the visit in her journal. Before he left, she asked if Jōichirō would ever eat her dishes. Jōichirō promised that he would only if she herself became a good chef, thus giving her the motivation she has for cooking.

Six months after Jōichirō's departure, her father, Azami Nakiri, subjected Erina to a particularly brutal regimen, forcing Erina to compare foods and determine precise errors in each, then throwing away the inferior dish, even using physical force to prompt her to do so. With time, this training created Erina's haughty personality as well as a deep seated fear regarding her father. Once Senzaemon found out, he exiled Azami from the Nakiri Family and Tōtsuki and tried to repair the damage done to her. Unfortunately, not everything done to Erina could be undone.

Life in the Tōtsuki Culinary Academy
Under the wing of her grandfather after Jōichirō's departure, Erina continued to further her cooking and became a prominent figure in the cooking world. Unsatisfied by most dishes served to her in the aftermath of Jōichirō's departure, she became infamously known throughout the world, as any dish deemed unsatisfactory by her meant the end of anyone's hope of becoming a high class chef. Her prodigious skills and renowned fame easily allowed her to be the top of her class and become the youngest Elite Ten Council member in the history of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy before she even entered the high school level, holding the 10th seat.

Shortly before the start of her high school life, Erina was asked, as a member of the Elite Ten Council, to judge numerous dishes for various companies, most of which left her unimpressed. Unhappy from the lack of excitement from her jobs, Hisako informed her that her last major job was to proctor an entrance exam for the high school level of Tōtsuki Culinary Academy.

Entrance Exam and Orientation Ceremony
Main article: Introduction Arc

Upon arrival at the exam, Erina introduced herself and decided that their task was to make any dish with eggs as its basis. Any dish that managed to satisfy her would grant them entrance into Tōtsuki, however she also mentioned that they had one minute to withdraw from the examination. Without a moment's hesitation, the room was quickly vacated. To her surprise, one student stayed: Sōma Yukihira, who accepted the challenge and decided to cook a dish from his family restaurant's secret menu, a Transforming Furikake Gohan. Though she was initially insulted by the simplistic name, the end product enticed her enough to try the dish. Much to her disbelief, the simple dish had impressed her, but her pride and Sōma's cockiness immediately caused her to deny him entrance into the school. Livid from the experience, she informed her grandfather that no applicants had passed.

One month later, Erina was welcomed as the top prospect of the 92nd Tōtsuki Generation from the Middle School section during their Entrance Ceremony. After her grandfather, Senzaemon Nakiri, gave his entrance speech, declaring that 99 percent of their class would ultimately fail, Erina smugly told herself that she will stand at the top of Tōtsuki while the rest will fight for second place. However, before the ceremony concluded, Senzaemon introduced the only student to transfer into the high school section: Sōma Yukihira. Erina was shocked that he was granted entry into Tōtsuki despite the fact that she personally denied him. Confused and angry over his unexpected entry and his entrance speech, Erina continued to degrade Sōma and tried to devalue him by declaring that everyone else in their generation had studied for three years during middle school. Undeterred, Sōma responded that three years of educational training cannot compete with twelve years of hands on cooking in a real life kitchen. Sōma vowed that he would make Erina admit that his food was good by the end of high school.

Sōma's First Shokugeki
Main article: Mito Vs. Don RS Shokugeki

For much of Erina's initial reign as the tenth seat of the Elite Ten Council, she began her "Nakiri Cooking Lab Extension" project to expand her kitchen which she claimed was too small. Erina began to personally challenge numerous Tōtsuki clubs to Shokugekis. Many of her targets were deemed "unnecessary" to her due to her belief that simplistic "B-Class" dishes do not belong in Tōtsuki. The day after Sōma joined the Polar Star Dormitory, Erina challenged the Chan RS president, Kiyoshi Gōdabayashi to a Shokugeki to move forward with her project. With the condition that she abandon her 10th seat should she lose, she accepted and began the Shokugeki.

In the end, Erina effortlessly won. Taking time to taste Kiyoshi's dish she immediately identified 27 different flaws. As she explained the faults of the dish, Kiyoshi angrily tried to refute her by trying her dish to look for flaws. However, as he ate her Ravioli Di Aragosta, the fantastic taste overwhelmed his senses. With the results of the Shokugeki finalized, Erina called a demolition crew to tear down the Chan RS clubroom. After leaving the arena and receiving an ovation by her personal butlers, she was greeted by Hisako who brought her the news of Sōma's high grade in Roland Chapelle's class, causing her demeanor to instantly snap. Enraged, Erina told Hisako not to mention his name around her. Thinking that Sōma is the greatest threat to her "sanctuary", Erina vowed to remove Sōma from Tōtsuki as soon as possible, by any means necessary.

Erina did not act alone in her project as she had another individual, Ikumi Mito, whose pride as the successor to the Mito Family, shared similar values as Erina and was a part of her faction.

Ikumi later reported to Erina that she was challenged to a Shokugeki by none other than Sōma on behalf of the Don RS with the condition that he would be expelled if he lost the match. Delighted to know that her opportunity to expel him had arrived, she allowed Ikumi take the challenge in her name. After Ikumi notified her that she would be using A5 beef to secure victory, Erina confidently left the Shokugeki in her hands. On the day of the Shokugeki, Erina personally came to the Shokugeki Arena to watch what was to be Sōma's first Shokugeki and ensure that the battle would be Sōma's last act in Tōtsuki.

Despite Ikumi's best effort and overall successful dish, her dish was no match for Sōma's true donburi which ultimately ended with Sōma's victory. The surprising conclusion left Erina speechless. As Ikumi gazed at Erina in her booth, she coldly walked away and told Hisako to vacate Ikumi's personal kitchen, breaking all ties from her.

Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp
Main article: Training Camp Arc

Several days after the Shokugeki between Sōma and Ikumi, Erina received a letter from the academy, announcing that the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp was coming up soon. Though she felt that the camp was a waste of time, Erina reluctantly joined her fellow classmates to the camp. As expected, Erina faced very little challenge during the camp's assignments, completing all of them with relative ease.

The First Day
She completed the first day of the camp and the extra assignment by Hitoshi Sekimori faster than anyone in her class. Walking down the hallway, Erina blissfully hummed until, at a blind corner, Erina bumped into a student who had just completed his task. Much to her dismay, it was none other than Sōma, who had just finished his task after her. Though Sōma kindly offered to help her to her feet, Erina refused his help. Erina voiced her skepticism against Sōma's grade in Roland's class and his victory in the Shokugeki against Ikumi. She continued to belittle Sōma's achievements and even admitted that the day that he would leave the academy would be the happiest day of her life. However Sōma did not take anything to heart and even noted her happy humming earlier. As Hisako arrived after completing her task, Erina told Sōma to leave her presence. Sōma obeyed and left to go into the bath as Erina told Hisako that she was not going to play any card games that night as she felt they were too "happy-go-lucky."

The Fourth Day & Breakfast Buffet Challenge
On the third night, Erina and the rest of the 92nd generation was summoned to the main hall for a surprise announcement. After Gin Dōjima announced that their task for the next morning was to serve a breakfast dish for the hotel's guest, Erina confronted Sōma. Overhearing rumors about his Shokugeki from the previous day, Erina told Sōma not to present a "vulgar" dish like his Transforming Gohan. Erina departed from the Main Hall with Hisako to head to the kitchens. On the way there, Erina bumped into Alice Nakiri who told her to enjoy her time at the top of the class while she still has it, to which Erina merely dismissed her comment. Erina spent very little time selecting her dish and decided to sleep well before any of the other students had finalized their dishes. Erina reflected on Sōma's entrance exam, declaring that she would show him the true power of a Tōtsuki dish.

The next morning, Erina was assigned to Hall A and, as fate would have it, in the neighboring kitchen was none other than Sōma. When Sōma said that he could finally see her cook, Erina sarcastically declared that he can taste the difference between their cooking. However, Sōma mistook her statement as an invitation to taste each other's dish afterwards. Gin officially started the challenge as the hotel guests, many big name food suppliers, and the hotel staff flooded into the halls. As Erina began to prepare her dish, Sōma chatted a bit with her. When Sōma told her about his dish, she laughed to herself from Sōma's choice regarding its texture. With the task of serving 200 dishes in two hours, Erina presented her dish, an Eggs Benedict. The dish was a great success, drawing the attention of everyone in the hall. With very little effort, Erina easily served 200 dishes well before the first hour had expired.

As the final 30 minutes began, many of the other students began to serve their 200th dish except for Sōma who had barely served 10. Although she took some time to laugh at Sōma's misfortune, she noticed that he had his eyes closed. Erina was shocked that Sōma thought that he could serve 190 dishes in less than 30 minutes as he muttered his plan to himself. Erina watched as Sōma began to serve out his dish at record speeds, stealing some attention from her stand. With seconds to spare, Sōma barely managed to serve his 200 dish quota. In the end though, Erina had served over 400 dishes, the only student to reach that number. Erina watched as Alice entered the hall and declared that she will stand at the top of Tōtsuki. When Alice told Sōma that he barely managed to pass the assignment, Erina was surprised by Sōma's "Experience of Failure" quote. However, they did not have much time to stay as the next assignment for that day was about to begin.

The Final Day
On the final day, Gin summoned the class once more to the Main Hall to announce their final activity. Though most of her classmates were exhausted, Erina was still full of vim and vigor. Gin announced that she and the other 627 students who had made it thus far had passed the camp and their final activity was a lavish banquet prepared by the Tōtsuki Resort staff and the Tōtsuki Academy Alumni. Erina joined Hisako during the banquet.

The next morning, Erina packed up her room and was ready to return to Tōtsuki. Unfortunately she had forgotten something in her room and told Hisako that she will arrange for a car to take her back. When she returned to her room, she retrieved what she had forgotten: A diary with a photo of a young Erina with her cooking idol, Jōichirō Yukihira, inside. As Erina left the hotel with her car waiting, ironically Sōma had also forgotten something and had missed the bus. Needing a ride back to the academy, Erina reluctantly allowed Sōma to ride back to Tōtsuki with her.

During the car ride, the two sat silently until Sōma brought up her earlier claims that he would fail the camp. Fuming in anger over Sōma's cheeky quote, Erina retorted that he will continue to struggle and will never be considered for the upcoming Autumn Election. Erina then explained the basics of the Autumn Election, which excited Sōma, however Erina reinforced that he will not be a participant. She finally brought up Sōma's "gained experience of failing", stating that a cook cannot fail and that his statement is nothing more than an excuse for his "incompetence." She told him that chef must be perfect like a "certain man's" cooking. When Sōma asked why she missed the bus, Erina denied him an answer. Seeing that there was not anything else to talk about, Sōma decided to take a nap while Erina looked out her window, blushing, as she thought about Jōichirō.

The 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election
Main article: Tōtsuki Autumn Election Arc

During the June holiday week, Erina was summoned along with her fellow Elite Ten Council members to decide on the participants from the 92nd Generation for the preliminaries. Among those who were selected to participate by the Tōtsuki heads during the Training camp was Sōma. As the council filled the last 20 positions, Erina brought up Sōma to the council and vocally protested his inclusion. However, the rest of the council already deemed him worthy of participating with Satoshi Isshiki and Etsuya Eizan defending his selection personally. A few weeks later, the participants selected were officially announced and Erina congratulated Hisako for her selection. Hisako promised that she would defeat Sōma at all costs, however these words caused Erina to recall her previous claims that Sōma would not participate in the election, much to her embarrassment.

The next day, as she returned to the Academy after performing her duty as an Elite Ten member, during her car ride back, Erina sensed Jōichirō's presence, who had just left Polar Star Dormitory. Erina immediately stopped the car and jumped out, hoping to catch a glimpse of her idol. To her dismay, he was nowhere in sight.

Nakiri Cousins' Holiday
Main article: Natsuyasumi no Erina

During the month break during summer, Erina watched Hisako as she prepared for the Autumn Preliminaries. Throughout the day, Erina gave her as much help as she could until Hisako felt that Erina was giving her too much input. Proud that her secretary wished to show her own strength, Erina let Hisako work unassisted. Unfortunately with nothing to do, Erina began to wonder what she could do. Soon after she received a call from Alice asking to spend some time together. To her dismay, their vacation spot was a public pool. They bickered for a bit until Erina threatened to leave. However thanks to some reverse-psychology from Alice, Erina stubbornly stayed.

In the pool area, Erina walked out in a swimsuit and a jacket. Though she was embarrassed, Alice convinced her to remove the jacket so she could swim properly. Erina and Alice played around for a while and Erina enjoyed herself. As they sat at the edge of the pool, Alice asked if she knew about "Hitting on girls" by boys at the pool. Erina believes that such things do not happen, but unbeknownst to her, her bodyguards and Ryō Kurokiba's intimidating appearance scared off most of the boys at the pool. Alice then asked if Erina ever had a crush, which Erina cryptically recalled her "special someone" whose cooking was perfect by her standards. However Alice teased her that she truly doesn't understand love when Erina denied ever wanting to date him. She retorted that Alice must be all talk, but she said that she's well prepared from all of the romance movies she has "watched". Afterwards, Erina lamented about her worst holiday ever. Suspicious from her cousin's happy-go-lucky and playful nature during the experience, Erina wondered about her cousin's intentions. As she waited for Alice's car so she could return home, Erina saw a few couples holding hands together, but she deems such relationships as boring.

Returning to the Nakiri Mansion, Hisako talked to Erina, worried that Alice belittled her during the vacation. Erina reassured her and asked about her jobs for the next day. Hisako recommended that she take a real vacation, but Erina remained determined to do her jobs. She told herself that she does not have time to be in a relationship and hardened her resolve to remain as the best figure within the Tōtsuki. After her vacation, Erina would visit the newly opened restaurant somewhere away from the Tōtsuki. During the opening party ceremony, she met all kinds of the renowned figures of the culinary business and she begin the meeting with the smile on her face.

Tōtsuki Autumn Election: Preliminary Round
See also: 43rd Annual Tōtsuki Autumn Election

Erina decided to watch over the "A" Block during the judging portion of the preliminaries. Among the more notable people who managed to catch her attention was Ryō Kurokiba, whom she acknowledged because of Alice's trust in him. The next person to catch her attention was Akira Hayama, whose Naan Pot Pie Curry managed to beat Kurokiba's score with a 94 while earning two perfect scores from the judges. Satoshi entered the booth along with Fumio Daimidō as Sōma presented his curry dish immediately after Akira. Satoshi believed that Sōma's participation in the "A" Block was the reason why she decided to watch that block in particular. To her surprise, Sōma's curry dish was met with praise from all of the judges as Satoshi and Fumio told Erina that Sōma was the ultimate sore loser, using the ideas from the Breakfast Challenge and the duel between his father to create his dish. Erina stood silently, reflecting on her previous claims that a chef can never fail to Sōma. Erina continued to stand in silence as Sōma's dish earned him a 93, qualifying him for the main tournament.

Tōtsuki Autumn Election: Main Tournament
A day before the Main Tournament, Erina, along with Satoshi and Etsuya, gathered at Tōtsuki HQ to announce the first round match ups to the 8 participants. When Sōma arrived, they told him that his first round theme would be a bento dish. Sōma was surprised by the simple theme, but Erina surprised him further when she explained that a Bento has a potential to be an A-Class dish. Sōma jokingly mentioned that it was hard to talk to her and Erina, confused, became increasingly frustrated with their conversation. Shortly after, Sōma's first round opponent, Alice, walked into the room.

Quarterfinals
After the conclusion of the first round, which resulted in Alice's defeat, Erina was waiting in the waiting area to mock Alice for her loss. Already upset from her defeat, Alice told Erina to wait for their eventual duel in the future. As Alice stormed off, Erina told herself that it must be nice to be able to cry selfishly like her. Later, after Ryō was declared the winner of the second match, Erina was waiting in the Judge's waiting area to direct them to the cars to take them off of the premise. As her grandfather passed by, Erina noticed that something was wrong with him. Senzaemon brushed off her concerns as he left for the bathroom as Erina watched in silence. Later that night, Hisako declared that she will emerge victorious from her match the next day. Erina gave Hisako her full confidence for her match.

However Hisako lost her match to Akira Hayama. Crushed by her defeat, Hisako decided to take a leave of absence to improve herself, even though Erina tried to stop her.

Road to the Semifinals
Main article: Yukihira Vs. Mimasaka Semifinal Shokugeki The following week, Erina spent much of her time reading Shojo Manga during her free time, however she was lonely due to Hisako's absence and did not know how to get the next volume of the Manga she was reading. Just as she was thinking about Hisako, the doorbell to the Nakiri Mansion rang, whom Erina assumed was Hisako. However, after she joyfully welcomed "Hisako" she soon realized it was Sōma and Mitsuru Sōtsuda who had come in hopes of having Erina critique Sōma's beef stew for his upcoming Semifinal Shokugeki. She initially refused to help unless Sōma paid a hefty fee, however Sōma noticed the manga she was holding and slipped a comment that one of the Polar Star residents has all of the volumes. Willing to negotiate some critique in exchange for the other volumes she wanted, Erina agreed. Without even tasting his stew, Erina was able to pick out every detail of the dish and after a single taste, she deemed that it would be great for a normal restaurant, but not for the tournament itself. Erina told Sōma that he did not understand the theme of the challenge but before Sōma could inquire further info, Erina promptly denied him any further help and forced him to leave. Before she closed the door however, she told Sōma to ask his dorm-mate for the next volume of the Manga she was reading earlier.

Semifinals
On the day of the Semifinals, Erina arrived at the Arena to watch Sōma's match against Subaru Mimasaka, expecting him to lose based on her previous critique. She finally revealed that a high class beef stew needs to be delicious from the first bite and not be a building experience like a special-of-the-day shop should be. To her surprise, from the little critique she had given him, Sōma brought out some beef tail which she figured that he was using due to the gelatinous properties which was a technique used by Hisako in her quarterfinal match. She watched as Sōma's improvements were covering his previous flaws, which left her speechless. Regardless, Erina continued to observe the Shokugeki where Sōma, despite his early disadvantages, achieved a decisive victory over Subaru, qualifying himself for the Finals. Before Sōma left the Arena, he approached Erina and reminded her that he has one more match to win in order challenge her for the top. However, Erina firmly stated that she was still leagues ahead of him.

Immediately after Sōma's semifinals match was Akira and Ryō's semifinals match. Sōma goes to the Elite Viewing Room to observe the match with Erina much to her anger. Alice also joins them there. The two cooks battled fiercely and the judges were ultimately unable to declare a clear winner of the match. Gin, the head judge, asked Erina if they could make a special condition for the finals: a three way duel between Sōma, Akira, and Ryō. Although Erina was unsure if such a thing was possible, Senzaemon allowed this to be the first ever three way finals duel.

Finals
Finally, the day of the Finals arrived. Unlike the previous matches, the finals was held in the late evening. After the three contestants brandished their pacific saury, Satoshi announced the judges for the finals then revealed themselves, consisting of Gin Dōjima, Senzaemon Nakiri, and Leonora Nakiri, Alice's mother. With her mother and her grandfather on the cooking floor, Alice invited herself to the judging table. Erina did her best to protest, but Senzaemon allowed Alice to stay. Gin teased Erina about her eccentric family, much to her embarrassment. With the path of the moon as the timer for the match, the Finals went underway and after an intense battle, Akira Hayama won the match. After the conclusion of the tournament, Erina is last seen looking over Sōma after he called his father before walking away.

Stagiaire
Main article: Stagiaire Arc

Shortly after the conclusion of the 43rd Autumn Election, the next event in the class whittling process for the 92nd Generation was the Stagiaire. Erina was assigned to Excellent, a French restaurant that was very close to earning its first Michelin star. There, she was partnered with Megumi Tadokoro. Erina politely greeted Megumi, much to Megumi's surprise given that Erina knew who she was. However, Erina told her to stay out her way during their Stagiaire. The head chef of Excellent, Kasayama, walked in and ordered the two to start out by washing dishes. Erina bluntly refused, stating that her job in the restaurant should reflect her skill set, much to Kasayama's anger.

Regardless of Kasayama's orders, Erina did as she pleased. Erina prepared a dish for a food critique who stated that the dish she made was a clear improvement than any dish cooked in the restaurant. In a matter of hours, Erina usurped the position as head chef and even Kasayama was forced to submit to Erina's rule. However, one significant event came when Megumi noticed from the plate residue that the customers were using a varying amount of sauce. Although Kasayama refused to listen, Erina was impressed by Megumi's observation and took it under consideration. She suggested using a saucière to solve the problem and provide a novelty to the meal. Just then, a waiter informed the group that a customer wanted more sauce than what was given and Megumi's suggestion went through.

Over the course of the week, they had greatly improved the efficiency of the restaurant and the quality of their dishes, thus the two passed the first stage of the Stagiaire events. Afterwards, Erina encountered Megumi as her car arrived at Excellent and offered Megumi a ride halfway to her next Stagiaire location. In the car, Erina told Megumi to have more self-confidence because she was selected for the top 8 of the Autumn Election and could not understand how someone with talent was not well known, which caused Megumi to blush. Megumi then mentioned Sōma which bewildered Erina, who told her to stop talking about him. To change the subject, Megumi asked Erina about Hisako, but this only caused Erina to become further depressed.

Moon Banquet Festival
Main article: Moon Banquet Festival Arc

After completing the Stagiare, Erina, along with Satoshi and Etsuya was in the stands, watching over Sōma after he provoked everyone in the audience, with Nene Kinokuni and Terunori Kuga. She later attended the Autumn Leaf Viewing with her fellow first years. However, she became defensive when Hisako told her to properly thank Sōma for the shōjo manga he lend to her, refuting that it was remuneration for tasting his dish instead. Erina then wondered about the friendly interaction between Hisako and Sōma. As the Elite Ten Council settled down, she watched as the event unfold on both sides. However, she remain unfazed as her fellow classmates' fighting spirits were kindled due to the disparity between them and the current Elite Ten members.

An Unexpected Visitor
During the festival, Erina was operating a successful shop in the Uptown Area. Though he had not showed up, Erina had left one table always open in case Jōichirō made a surprise visit to keep his promise to her. On the fifth day, Erina already had all her customers who had reserved a seat at her store show up, but one person without a reservation made a visit. Though Erina had hoped it was Jōichirō, Erina was terrified to see that the unexpected visitor was none other than her father, Azami Nakiri. Within a few seconds at Erina's booth, Azami caused an uproar through some blatant insults. Erina was powerless in his presence, unable to do anything but quiver in fear. Azami requested to eat some of Erina's food. Though Hisako told him that he could not without a reservation, he noticed the open table left for Jōichirō and promptly sat in it despite Erina's attempt to protest.

Ultimately powerless to stop him, Erina nearly submitted, but Sōma paid her booth an unexpected visit. Sōma asked if he could try some of her food and saw that her father was seated alone on a table. After Sōma asked if he could eat with him, Azami left the premises only to be stopped by an entourage of cars led by Senzaemon. After a heated debate about their respective culinary doctrines, Azami brandished an official document signed by six of the ten Elite Ten Council members, stating that it was the academy's desire to have Azami installed as the new Director of Tōtsuki. Of the six votes in favor of the move, Erina was not one of them. Nevertheless, with the numbers needed to move the proposal, Azami declared that he was the new "king" of Tōtsuki.

Central
Main article: Central Arc Several days later, the Elite Ten Council met up to officiate the new Director proposal, while Erina was extremely downtrodden the entire time. Returning to the Nakiri mansion, Azami had relieved Hisako of her duties as Erina's secretary, placing himself in that role instead. Though Erina wanted to oppose, she was ultimately unable to argue against her father. With each passing day, Erina lost control of her life to her father's whims and was plagued by nightmares she had not had in several years. One night, Alice, Hisako, and Ryō smuggled her out of the Nakiri Mansion for her wellbeing. Unsure where to go, they stumbled upon the grounds of the Polar Star Dormitory, and were hiding in the bushes outside the dorm in the rain, where they were found by Megumi Tadokoro, who ushered them inside for their safety. Inside, the residents were informed of Erina's situation and Fumio Daimidō granted her a room for the time being. With Erina now under their care, the Polar Star residents wasted no time asking Erina to critique their dishes. Even Sōma wanted to have her sample a dish, but she bluntly refused him. Nevertheless, Sōma went off to make one anyway. As he tied on his apron, Erina saw a visage of Jōichirō, much to her confusion.

Battle for Polar Star
Main Article: Yukihira Vs. Eizan Shokugeki

After her father's decision to officially disband all Research Societies and Seminars across the academy, another target was placed into his sights: the Polar Star Dormitory. With Etsuya as the enforcer for the forced closure, she watched with the other Polar Star residents as Tetsuji Kabutoyama battled Etsuya Eizan in a clearly rigged shokugeki that resulted in the expulsion of Tetsuji. With the inevitability that the dorm was destined to close down in ten days, Erina was saddened to see the now spiritually crushed residents. The next day, news had arrived that Sōma had issued a Shokugeki challenge in order to overturn the decision to close down Polar Star. Confused by Sōma's decision to do so, despite the heavy consequences from a match that was clearly rigged, Erina and the residents had no time to worry about it as the dorm was attacked by Etsuya's goons who had moved the eviction date for the dorm to that very day. The residents quickly barricaded the dorm and put up a terrific defense thanks to some industrial hoses, much to Erina's amazement. As the defense continued, Erina reflected on her time at the dormitory thus far. She told Hisako that she was used to everyone unconditionally listening to her critique and carrying it out. After watching the Polar Star residents do the opposite and bounce ideas off of each other, she realized that there was more than one way to improve a dish.



That night, the Polar Star residents as well as the Aldini Twins celebrated the Shokugeki victory. Erina was shocked by the eccentricities of the residents, especially Satoshi and his "Naked Apron" gag. As the party continued, Erina reflected on her time there thus far, seeing how much the dorm and even Hisako herself seemed to believe in Sōma through blind faith in his ability to pull of miracles in his duels. Suddenly, the doorbell for the dorm had rung and when Sōma went to answer it, Azami had let himself in and immediately headed to the dinning room. There, he immediately beckoned for Erina. Though the residents tried to block Azami from Erina, she still walked to her father, expecting him to take her back. However, he merely petted her head and told her she could stay for the time being. After finishing his business and revealing that he was once a Polar Star resident himself during the Golden Era, Azami vacated the premises. Outside, as Sōma and Azami discussed Azami's past, Erina headed to the entrance just in time for Sōma to reveal that he is the son of Jōichirō Saiba, Erina and Azami's cooking inspirations.

Although doubtful at first since they had different last names, Yūki showed her a picture of Jōichirō next to Sōma and the current Polar Star Residents after his last visit. Upon realizing it was true, a horrified Erina thought back to her treatment to Sōma as she was shocked that her arch-nemesis is also the son of her idol. After processing this, she nearly fainted from the disbelief of the news.

Crossroads
Erina happened to pass by a classroom where Sōma and Eishi were beginning a cooking duel. Watching through the windows, Erina and Hisako was noticed by Sōma. Needing a judge for their duel, the two agreed to take on the task. Sōma's dish put up a valiant effort, but Eishi's was superior in the end. Though the duel had a stipulation of making Sōma Eishi's underling, knowing that Sōma's roguish personality would prove more of a hinderance than an asset, Eishi declined the prize he would have won.

Several days later, the academy began to stir as members of Central began losing Shokugeki duels to 92nd Generation students. However, this was merely the beginning of a long road ahead for those who opposed Azami's reign. It was announced that the 92nd Generations Promotion Exams were quickly approaching. Knowing that this would be the event that Central will use to eliminate the rebelling students, Erina was unsure of what to do. She decided to visit Sōma in his room and told him the story of how she met Jōichirō. Though she still vividly remembers the day when she was introduced to Jōichirō's unique cooking, she could not deny the ideals her father held as she had been exposed to countless bland, ill-made dishes. At the crossroads, unsure of which way to go, Erina needed a way to decide which path she should follow. Sōma offered to make her a Yukihira Style dish for her in hopes of giving her the answer she desired. His Chicken Egg Tempura Don, despite using low grade eggs, was able to please Erina's God's Tongue due to its sheer creativity and ingenuity when considering the ingredients. Erina was curious as to why Sōma attempted such a seemingly random idea and rejecting the idea of using better quality ingredients for that sake. Sōma told her because it is more fun that way. Though the end results are not known when he experiments, the process and journey of getting to that end result is what makes cooking enjoyable to him, the exact same words Jōichirō had told her before.

Erina finally came to a conclusion and decided to ally with those rebelling against Azami. Knowing that they would be facing extreme prejudice at the exams, Erina summoned all of the rebelling 92nd Generation the next morning and declared that she would give them an extensive training course to prepare them for the exams. With seven days to do so, Erina hammered in whatever knowledge she could into the rebels.

Promotion Exams
Main Article: Promotion Exams Arc As The Promotion Exams is about to begin when the Polar Star Members began to fool around Erina react in dark angry demeanor and scolded them for fooling around while she wonder if the being to hard on them teaching them but Hisako reassure her that she was through as need be

Erina was paired up with regular students ensuring that she past the exams while the Rebels was place together and were forcibly given handicaps during the exams. The examiner reassure Erina that she doesn't need to worry as rebel will be complete whiter out however Erina didn't worry at all as she believe there isn't any reason for her to worry.

Indeed All member of the Rebel group manage to past despite their Handicap Erina scolded them for being to carefree as the exam has just only begun Erina and the other rebels arrived at Railway station taking them to their next exam stage when Yuki noted that they still had five more task to go Erina however noted that isn't case as the exam would become much more harder and that the academy will continue their attempt weed the rebels out which is the reason why everyone should do the best as they can

As the Train was Heading toward the next destination Erina have a few conversation with Isami and Ryoko. She then talk to Megumi who brought her tea and also inform that Hisako had taste it for poison before leaving Soma arrived and Erina asked why everyone come to her and they should rest if they have free time Soma then mention that Megumi had said something a few minute ago on how she felt bad that Erina worried about them much more as kelp watching them during the exam and want to do something for her and Soma noted that everyone just want to say thank you to her But Erina stated she isn't doing for the thank and just doing as she see fit.

Cooking Style
Erina has no particular cooking or cuisine specialty. Instead her cooking is based upon using high quality ingredients and incredible creativity with the feeling of regality. Erina's cooking and skill easily allowed her to acquire the 10th seat of the Elite Ten Council at the end of her third year of middle school, signifying that she is indeed the best chef of her class and one of the best chefs currently in Tōtsuki. Despite being no more than a mere high school girl, Erina's skill level is already on par with most professional chefs. The clearest demonstration of Erina's cooking prowess came during her Stagiaire assignment where a French cuisine head chef, who single-handedly built the reputation of the said restaurant almost to their first Micheline star, submitted and gave Erina full command of the kitchen in just a few short hours.

Skills

 * God's Tongue - Erina's tongue is considered the best in the world, able to taste a dish to the highest degree. Thanks to this ability, Erina has been a culinary prodigy since she was no more than 4 years old.

Original Dishes

 * Ravioli Di Aragosta - Erina's dish to defeat Kiyoshi Gōdabayashi, the president of the Chan RS in a Shokugeki. A simple Italian ravioli improved by Erina's mastery in cooking created a truly perfect dish to give her a decisive victory.


 * Eggs Benedict - Erina's dish during the Tōtsuki Friendship and Rapport Training Camp's Breakfast Buffet Challenge. Combined with bacon strips and bread, this dish is one of the artistic dishes. The flavor is so powerful, it forces complete obedience in servitude.


 * Soufflé Léger de Grâce - Erina's dish for her shokugeki against Momo Akanegakubo.

Collaboration Dishes

 * '''Team Saiba's Hachis Parmentier

Clubs

 * Elite Ten Council - Erina previously held the 10th seat of the Elite Ten Council, which she acquired at the end of her 3rd year in middle school. She relinquished this position during the Promotion Exams to fight alongside the rebelling students against her father and Central.

Trivia

 * Erina ranked 2nd in the first popularity poll with 803 votes. She ranked 2nd again in a second popularity poll, with 5046 votes. And ranked 1st in the third popularity poll with 3350 votes,
 * According to the Volume 23 Extras, Erina's favorite song is Amaryllis, and she enjoys Card Games (Especially Seven)
 * Erina currently holds the record for earliest inauguration into the Elite Ten, entering the council while she was still in Middle School.
 * Erina (えりな) is from Eleanor, which was a very common name among women of high nobility during the High Middle Ages - thus reflecting Erina's prestige in the cooking industry. Nakiri (薙切) uses the kanji for "to mow down" (薙 Na) and "to cut" (切 Kiri).
 * Nakiri is also a name for a Japanese-style vegetable knife.