Crossword Genius

Cook various eats for many (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

steam

'cook' is the definition.
(steaming is a kind of cooking)

'various eats for many' is the wordplay.
'various' indicates an anagram.
'for' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'many' becomes 'm' (**).
'eats' is an anagram of 'stea'.
'stea'+'m'='STEAM'

(Other definitions for steam that I've seen before include "Invisible gas from boiling water" , "Engine driver" , "Old-fashioned power" , "Hot water vapour" , "Momentum - boiled water" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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