Gantetsu

Tall for his years, Gantetsu carries a full beard of medium length across jaw and chin that runs unbroken into his sideburns, topped by a heavy mustache and thick brows. Age has bleached nearly all of it white, though a striped pattern in the beard betrays the dark hair he once had. The hair itself is cut short and stands high. A scar crosses his face, running from the right ear down to the nose.

He dresses as a Japanese cook, kanji printed on the back of the uniform, a haramaki at the waist, and a headband, also lettered, pulled down over his left eye. Geta sandals finish it. The detail people remember, though, is the long wooden pole he tends to carry around with him.

Stubbornness is Gantetsu's defining and widely acknowledged trait. He says little, but whatever he does say lands plainly. Cooking he treats as serious business demanding professionalism and dedication, and anyone doing the work badly hears about it.

The harshness has a floor under it. Show him genuine willingness to improve and he will grant a second attempt, and he gives credit freely when the work deserves it. He also repays kindness, and the repayment tends to take the form of an invitation to eat at his restaurant.

Someone had been pressing Gantetsu for a while to sell the shop, and the answer was always no.

Then four visitors turned up: Seiji Shishikura, Inasa Yoarashi, Denki Kaminari and Shoto Todoroki, who had mistaken the place for the office of a Pro Hero with the same name. Gantetsu assumed they were after apprenticeships and set them to making soba as a test. What they produced disappointed him badly and he told them to go. The four asked for another try, he allowed it, and the second dish impressed him enough that he congratulated them on it.

The would-be buyer returned that same day with the same request and met the same refusal. Out of patience with the chef, he sent two villains to attack, and the four students put them down without difficulty. Only afterward did Gantetsu work out that they were hero students all along, and that the confusion had been between the hero Gantetsu's office and his restaurant. He was grateful regardless, and told them the restaurant was open to them whenever they liked.