I don't remember that elf he met that could see spirits. Shouldn't have forgotten a character like that in a few hours and after 8 chapters... I do wonder why they don't have better sweets when they are able to produce all the ingredients for cake and therefore many other desserts
That elf also confuses me, especially since I just started the series a few hours ago like you (at the time).
Regarding the sweet thing though, kinda understandable if the setting is similar to medieval Europe. Sweet should be scarce in quantity, so not many will experiment. From my limits experience, sweet also a lot harder to fix & alter once baked, as opposed to meat & vegetable dish, which have mirage of ways as long as it's not reduced to cinder.