Good points on it all being relative and more a ceremonial thing when flying J/F!

One thing that bugs me with J/F food is all too often it seems like the airlines attempt to make it fancy for the sake of being fancy, with it all too often being poorly executed in a metal tube in the sky. I far prefer something simple and tasty, but then there would probably be lots of complaints that follow (e.g. the outrage I've seen around here at some airlines cutting caviar service in F.)

I used to be excited about the whole "experience" aspect of the onboard meal, but have come to realize that most of the time, it's nothing to write home about and is more for sustenance than a culinary experience to be remembered.

The Japanese airlines have been the notable exception in this regard. JAL's onboard catering was genuinely impressive, presenting food I would consider "excellent" on the ground. By contrast, CX and LH have been complete disasters in F, but LH does have excellent food in their F-lounges to make up for it.