It's true Dave that we do indeed have all the international foods and flavourings at our disposal, but my bet is that people nowadays are tired from work and prefer to buy ready-cooked meals to pop in the microwave. These are often spicy and flavourful. But I'd bet most folk younger than me (ie nearly everyone!) haven't a clue about ordinary English cooking (eg post-War plain dishes) or economical use of leftovers etc. They could do batch cooking of casseroles, soup and stews, then freeze them up for reheating after work, but I expect they can't be bothered. But I'm so proud of my husband; he goes into the Bangladeshi and Asian delis and gets all the exotic and hot spices and powders he needs, and creates wonderful food with them. And in Cote d'Ivoire, a man wouldn't be seen dead at the cooking pot, so he's very brave.
The most important thing is getting the best quality ingredients, even the cheaper cuts must be of a good standard. My old mum would say, "Let the food do the talking and don't mess it about with fancy stuff like garlic!" My parents seemed to think garlic was the ultimate in ghastly and horrible things to have in the larder!