Often times Catering also brings other items such as crew water, garbage bags and some minor equipment. While they may have been okay departing without drinks and food, its the other items that may have been more important.
Part of our CA states we (pilots) are required to have water boarded for us. Those pilots may have been operating back to Toronto. I think its unfair to ask them to operate without water. That being said it looked like a colossal fu(k up by catering after another delay. FYI pilots are not fed on north american routes anymore. We are given a perdiem instead. Most of us are sick and tired of airplane food and rather pack a healthier, fresher meal from home or buy food from the terminal.