damn just how bland is his everyday food for malocen’s cooking to get magic allegations ...

I think it's actually the opposite He mentioned that there were too much spices in the food he ate, to the point that he cannot taste the meat but only the spices put in the dish. So when he made the soup, the Duke might have been surprise he can actually taste the real flavor of the ingredients, just enhanced by the right amount of spices rather than too much spices mixed in a dish.