Acolyte unknown where food is dished out (7)
I believe the answer is:
servery
'where food is dished out' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'acolyte unknown' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'unknown' could be 'y' (algebra) and 'y' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'server' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for servery that I've seen is " From where to collect meals".)