@newhek it's almost like the author want to write a story about central/middle east asian culture, but Otoyomegatari already did it so the author move the setting to fantasy world with fantasy race but still mostly central/middle east asian culture... and hey, now the author doesn't really need to care about historical and cultural accuracy anymore, make it easier for the author...
Sadly tho, that's where the similarity end. The premise of the story is too different, almost opposite of the Otoyomegatari. In otoyomegatari, it's about an outsider learning and observing the wonderful culture of central/middle east asia, while here it's about an outsider who teach the elf how to cook a superior japanese food...
@Laughing_Snake funnily enough, IRL the use of spice is started in the area where food is hard to preserve like in the hot or humid place, exactly like the place where the elf live... In fact, the first spice trade from south east asia is to middle east country, a long before european.