Cook, most important, I dropped off (4)
I believe the answer is:
chef
'cook' is the definition.
(both can mean someone who cooks)
'most important i dropped off' is the wordplay.
'most important' becomes 'chief' (I've seen this in another clue).
'dropped off' suggests deleting specific letters.
'chief' with 'i' taken out is 'CHEF'.
(Other definitions for chef that I've seen before include "Professional cook" , "Hotel cook" , "who has a set of knives?" , "member of kitchen staff" , "Head cook in a restaurant" .)