African characters eating too much cheese (7)
I believe the answer is:
ricotta
'cheese' is the definition.
(ricotta is a type of cheese)
'african characters eating too much' is the wordplay.
'african characters' becomes 'rica' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'eating' indicates putting letters inside.
'too much' becomes 'OTT' (short for over the top).
'rica' enclosing 'ott' is 'RICOTTA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for ricotta that I've seen before include "Soft white cheese used in Italian cooking" , "Sheep's milk cheese" , "Read the riot act about the cheese" , "Ital. cheese" , "one brought on board?" .)