Synopsis
Hinako Inui is an 80th-generation Tōtsuki alumna, a former 2nd seat of the Elite Ten Council known during her school days as the Mist Empress, and now the owner and head chef of the Japanese restaurant Kirinoya. She projects a serene, mature image, but is privately quite childish, and instantly connects with Megumi Tadokoro on first meeting because of how much their personalities overlap.
Behind the calm exterior lies the same unforgiving standard held by every Tōtsuki alumnus: Hinako has openly stated that chefs who freeze up when faced with the unknown have no place at the academy, though she makes an exception for treatable problems like stage fright, which is exactly what convinces her that Megumi is worth salvaging.
Hinako is close with fellow alumni Kojirō Shinomiya, whom she loves to tease despite his temper, and Fuyumi Mizuhara, alongside whom she saw Kojirō off when he left for France. She challenged him to an unofficial Shokugeki before his departure and lost, though she has always insisted the result would have differed on her home turf of Japanese cuisine.
