Chapter 3 (Shokugeki no Sanji)

Shokugeki no Sanji: A Beautiful Dessert is the third of a set of spinoff one-shots created by Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma creators Yūto Tsukuda and Shun Saeki. It was published in July 2021 alongside Chapter 1019 to celebrate the 24th anniversary of the manga.

Plot Synopsis
In the Arabasta Kingdom, after the civil war and defeat of Crocodile, Nefertari Cobra holds a feast for the Straw Hat Pirates. As Luffy rapidly scarfs down food, Sanji interacts with Nefertari Vivi and gets the idea to go to the kitchen and make a special dessert for her and Nami. As he looks for the kitchen, he overhears one guard ask another about the kitchen possibly being short-staffed due to most of the staff being assigned for reconstruction work. However, the other guard assures him that Chef Terracotta has addressed this by recruiting cooks from other towns as well as retired cooks who should arrive at any moment. As Sanji wonders how he can get access into the kitchen, he then sees some cooks race to tell Terracotta that the cooks from other towns are running late due to their horse-pulled cart breaking down while the retired cooks all have bad backs. The cooks are left stunned and, with the main dish next on the preparation list and Luffy's appetite only increasing, they wonder if they will need to tell Cobra that their service will be slowed. However, Terracotta proclaims that they will do no such thing, as the Straw Hats put their lives on the line to save the kingdom. Thus, they would work until they had no energy left as this was the least they could do to repay them. Right then, Sanji arrives at the kitchen entrance and informs the staff that he is a cook and has wanted to learn about the workings of a palace kitchen, saying he would be happy for them to put him to work as a trainee.

Sanji quickly gets to work preparing food, and Terracotta and the chefs are left impressed at not only his great cooking skill, but also his joy in cooking that brought the rest of them out of a state of panic. Once the extra cooks finally arrive, Sanji returns to the dining room table with his crew, taking a certain dish with him. Some time later, Luffy finally declares that he has had enough to eat, and much of the crew gets up to go dance. Sanji and Vivi are left at the table, and Vivi thanks him for all they did to save Arabasta. To return the thanks to her, Sanji presents her the special dessert he made: a variety of rice pudding known as Roz Bil Laban. Vivi is entranced just by the appearance and smell, and when she takes a bite, she is filled with memories about her time with the Straw Hats, which she loved even during the pain of the war. Utterly encompassed with the taste, Vivi thanks Sanji and he asks her to dance, but she declines. Nami then comes and asks where her dessert is, causing Sanji to hurriedly promise to make her one once they set sail. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper then arrive and invite Sanji to have fun dancing with them.

Some time later, Sanji informs Terracotta that he and the rest of the crew will be leaving. As a token of gratitude and a gift, she gives him a copy of the palace's secret cookbook of Arabastan recipes, while another chef offers him some spices. Sanji promises to meet up again after he and his crew circumnavigate the Grand Line. As the Straw Hats set off to the sea, Terracotta notes that Sanji really is an incredible chef.

Characters

 * Sanji
 * Roronoa Zoro
 * Usopp
 * Nefertari Cobra
 * Igaram
 * Chaka
 * Monkey D. Luffy
 * Karoo
 * Nami
 * Matsuge
 * Tony Tony Chopper
 * Nefertari Vivi
 * Terracotta
 * Barrel (flashback)
 * Arrow (flashback)
 * Brahm (flashback)
 * Pell (flashback)
 * Koza (flashback)
 * Stomp
 * Ivan X
 * Cowboy
 * Bourbon Jr
 * Kentauros
 * Hikoichi

Trivia

 * The chapter takes place in the Arabasta Arc, during the events of Chapter 213 when the Straw Hat Pirates were having a celebration dinner at the Alubarna Palace following their victory over Crocodile.
 * This is the first known chapter not to introduce any one-shot characters.
 * This is the first chapter where the cover is part of the plot.