Looks pretty well done but confused why they used art from the Safavids as the cover art. Entirely different cuisine and time period of the contents of the book. Surely they could’ve celebrated art from the region?
What I found "odd" was that an Iraqi author was the first to translate the manuscript and publish the English version - https://www.amazon.com/Delectable-Foods-Dishes-al-Andalus-al... - and yet, while they make a one line mention of this, the whole article is about a British cook and author, and his book.
They don't really hide that fact. There's a limit to how in depth the knowledge of any history journalist can be on their own, and experts on an issue are going to want payment for their time.
Actual payment costs money, it's much easier to pay them in publicity by discussing a topic they released a book on or area they work at.
I've heard that publishers don't give authors much say in cover art. Maybe someone at the publishing company looked up "Sultan art high res" and found this.