It definitely is. Most people I know care about having good food. It does vary a lot with income and region. The biggest problem is long working hours and people not having time or energy to do anything more than buy ready meals.

While people in the UK tend to eat worse than people in the rest of Europe, we eat better than Americans and food here is "rich and varied".

I am puzzled by GP's comment about having cheaper rent by not having a kitchen. I have never even heard of anywhere you could rent here that did not have a kitchen - its really must be bottom end room rental (and even there shared kitchens are normal).