If you like to cook it does make sense to go higher end on gadgets/appliances. When you think about it $600 is not even that much as far as food related costs go and it's something you'll have for a very long time. That's equivalent to going to McDonald's about 20-30 times. I rarely get JUST a combo when I go to a fast food place, as the combos are so small now, so I will tend to upsize the fry, maybe add something else so looking at $20 something or even $30 depending what I get.
I keep meaning to get more into cooking but I'm honestly just lazy when it comes to that, I find it hard to justify the time and energy required to do it for one person. I still meal prep some times, just not for 100% of my meals. I recently got into the Factor meal subscription plan so I eat way less fast food now though. Comes up to around $13/meal, so while it's not cheaper than cooking it's actually way cheaper than fast food.