I am going to say that I don't mind this - I rarely eat anything on short haul and maybe have a wine on the occasional flight up and down to Edinburgh.
If I am hungry, I am lucky enough to be able to grab something in the lounge before departure. If I want to drink wine, again I can do so in the lounge.
However I do think that not providing free water is a health and safety issue - in fact I would be surprised if they are allowed to keep people in a confined space for a period of time without the ability to drink water and this in itself is ludicrous. Never mind adding a delay to the mix. THAT is the bit I find very distasteful about this whole thing.
aks120